Theranos’ outlook for 2018 improved after securing a $100 million loan from Fortress Investment Group, which will help the troubled blood-testing company dodge bankruptcy, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes wrote in an email to shareholders that the loan is subject to the company “achieving certain product and operational milestones.” She said the deal provides Theranos with “sufficient liquidity through 2018.”
Through the loan, Fortress assumes 4 percent of Theranos’ equity. The investment group specializes in distressed asset investing.
The expose on Theranos that WSJ published in October 2015 prompted a series of events that left what was once a well-funded and perceived-to-be promising startup as an embattled and gutted company. It was reported in April that Ms. Holmes owes the startup $25 million. The company settled several lawsuits this year, including one with Walgreens, and recently moved its operations and staff from Palo Alto, Calif., to a manufacturing facility in Newark, Calif.
HENRY KOTULA 