Apple to settle things amicably with GT Advanced Technologies

Synthetic sapphire manufacturer GT Advanced Technologies (GTAT) and Apple announced their agreement [PDF] to dissolve their partnership amicably after GTAT filed a surprising bankruptcy claim earlier this month. The proceedings threatened to expose information about Apple’s dealings with GTAT, something Apple desperately wanted to hide, as evidenced by court filings from Apple asking that its objection to GTAT’s Chapter 11 proceedings be submitted in secret.

Apple and GT Advanced Technologies Inc struck an agreement on Tuesday that will let GT begin the shutdown of key Arizona operations, and shed some more light on why the former stock market darling abruptly filed for bankruptcy this month. A lawyer for GT, Apple’s erstwhile sapphire supplier, described the deal at a hearing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Springfield, Massachusetts, saying it would save the company money and allow it to be more open about its mysterious Chapter 11 filing on October 6. Scant details have emerged since the filing, which wiped out most of GT’s market value and triggered speculation as to what may have soured its relationship with Apple. It remains unclear how much information GT would get to reveal under Tuesday’s agreement, which was described verbally by GT’s lawyer but has not been fully outlined in court filings.