Whenever I drive by the big Ampex Corp. sign on Highway 101 in Redwood City, Calif., I can't help but feel a certain fondness for the company. As one of the oldest tech companies in the Valley, it has somehow managed to survive against all odds as so many others have imploded around it (the building just next to Ampex's belonged to Excite@Home, as an obvious example).

The 64-year-old Ampex, which makes various video technologies, beat the odds again Friday, announcing that it will emerge from bankruptcy and receive $5 million in new funding from lender and former affiliate Hillside Capital Inc. that the company said will be used for working capital and to pay off some of its outstanding debt. In exchange, Hillside will get 95% of the company's new common stock.

The driving force behind Ampex's Chapter 11 filing was outstanding debt obligations held by its two underfunded pension plans, which are owed $13.5 million and $44.2 million, respectively. To fully fund benefits, Ampex would be required to contribute roughly $53 million by 2013.

Ampex is best known for making one of Hollywood's first original reel-to-reel tape players in 1944. Ampex's reel-to-reel tape players also helped the American Broadcasting Co. launch "The Bing Crosby Show" in 1948. The company has captured more than a dozen Emmy Awards since its inception. In the late 1990s, it tried to catch the Internet wave and bet its future on Internet video, a move that didn't work out.

How it will remain relevant is yet to be seen. But once again, the scrappy company has clawed its way back for another shot. - Olaf de Senerpont Domis

See Oct. 3 press release on Ampex from BusinessWire