Online wine club Winc Inc. filed for chapter 11 protection, just over a year after the company’s initial public offering, Bloomberg News reported. The subscription service listed $50.3 million of assets and $36.8 million in liabilities in its bankruptcy petition, which was filed on Wednesday in Delaware. The company is arranging a buyer for its assets and has hired Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. as its investment banker, according to court papers. Winc was founded in 2012 as Club W. It’s aimed at helping younger consumers buy wine online, personalized to their tastes. It ships customers proprietary bottles based on results from an online quiz, and promising savings and convenience from cutting out middle men. The company garnered funding from backers including Bessemer Venture Partners. Winc raised $22 million in an initial public offering in November 2021, touting itself as “one of the fastest growing at scale wineries in the United States.” But it never turned a profit, and its shares slid 98% from their $13 debut to around 30 cents on Wednesday before the filing. Meta Platforms Inc. is listed as the company’s largest unsecured creditor, with a $724,000 trade claim.
