Controversial “smart gun” manufacturer Armatix has filed the German equivalent of Chapter 11 restructuring. From Fortune:

Armatix pulls out of tech fair, but vows to continue operating

The manufacturer of the only so-called “smart” pistol available on the market today has entered chapter 11-style restructuring proceedings in Germany, the company confirmed to Fortune yesterday.

“This is a corporate restructuring, not an insolvency proceeding,” a spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “Armatix will continue operations and does not anticipate any changes to its majority shareholders.” The spokesman did not return calls seeking to discuss the situation further, nor did the company’s U.S. CEO Belinda Padilla or its chief shareholder Bernd Dietel, who is based in Switzerland.

The timing of the development was unfortunate for the company. Today Armatix was to have been a key presenter at the first of five smart gun technology fairs that a gun safety group had organized to familiarize local law enforcement officials with developments in the area. On Tuesday, however, Armatix informed Rabbi Joel Mosbacher, a co-chair of the group, that it would be unable to attend today’s fair at the New Rochelle (N.Y.) Police Department because the custodian appointed to oversee the company’s finances had refused to authorize travel expenses, according to Mosbacher. The fair will go forward with four other smart gun designers participating, Mosbacher says.

Armatix held the unfortunate position of being one of the first gun manufacturers to publicly offer a “smart gun” which would recognize the wearer of a watch-like device, acting as an anti-theft safety. This has proven a source of controversy, since the US state of New Jersey passed a law holding that three years after the first such firearm was sold in New Jersey, non-personalized handguns would become illegal in that state. This would have not only outlawed literally every other handgun on the market, but would have given Armatix a tremendous head start in the state handgun market.