Despite total sales of around $40 million in 1995, TSR ended 1996 with little in cash reserves, and the company was deep in debt. Random House returned an unexpectedly high percentage of unsold stock, including the year's inventory of unsold novels and sets of Dragon Dice, and charged a fee of several million dollars. Random House returned around $14 million of product between 1995 and 1997. TSR found itself in a cash crunch. With no cash, TSR was unable to pay their printing and shipping bills. J. B. Kenehan, the logistics company that handled TSR's pre-press, printing, warehousing, and shipping, refused to do any more work. Since the logistics company had the production plates for key products such as core D&D books, there was no means of printing or shipping core products to generate income or secure short-term financing. The company laid off thirty staff members in December 1996, and other employees including James M. Ward quit over disagreements about how the company managed the crisis. In large part due to the need to refund Random House, TSR began 1997 more than $30 million in debt. TSR was threatened by lawsuits due to unpaid freelancers as well as missing royalties, but TSR made sufficient earnings from products already shipped to stores to keep their remaining staff paid through the first half of 1997. With no viable financial plan for TSR's survival, Lorraine Williams sold the company to Wizards of the Coast in 1997 in a deal brokered by Five Rings Publishing Group (FRPG).
despite total sales of around $40 million in 1995 tsr ended 1996 with little in cash reserves and the company was deep in debt random house returned an unexpectedly high percentage of unsold stock including the year's inventory of unsold novels and sets of dragon dice and charged a fee of several million dollars random house returned around $14 million of product between 1995 and 1997 tsr found itself in a cash crunch with no cash tsr was unable to pay their printing and shipping bills j b kenehan the logistics company that handled tsr's pre-press printing warehousing and shipping refused to do any more work since the logistics company had the production plates for key products such as core d&d books there was no means of printing or shipping core products to generate income or secure short-term financing the company laid off thirty staff members in december 1996 and other employees including james m ward quit over disagreements about how the company managed the crisis in large part due to the need to refund random house tsr began 1997 more than $30 million in debt tsr was threatened by lawsuits due to unpaid freelancers as well as missing royalties but tsr made sufficient earnings from products already shipped to stores to keep their remaining staff paid through the first half of 1997 with no viable financial plan for tsr's survival lorraine williams sold the company to wizards of the coast in 1997 in a deal brokered by five rings publishing group (frpg)