As reader of this blog probably know already, Sumner Redstone (along with his various investment vehicles) has sold his 87% stake in Midway Games for $100,000. Over the years, the Viacom/CBS mogul has spent a good $500 million-plus accumulating that stake. Even in the annals of bad investments, that's gotta be near the top.

Of course, Midway's new majority owner doesn't just get the troubled company, which has consistently lost money over the last few years, for his $100,000. He also has to take on well over $100 million in debt (more on that in my next post). So essentially he's getting a struggling videogame publisher with very little cash on hand, no path to profitability, and a huge pile of debt to pay off. During Midway's last earnings call, senior executives admitted they had a severe liquidity problem. Though this acquisition solves some problems for Redstone (the Wall Street Journal story outlines how it the benefits to him tax-wise), it doesn't solve anything for Midway. The "Mortal Kombat" publisher still needs to raise cash to pay off its debt to National Amusements (Redstone's primary investment vehicle) by the spring, as well as find a way to get back into the black.

Who's the man taking on this very difficult task? The Journal identifies hiim as "investor Mark Thomas" and so far, I can't find out anything more about him. There are obviously a lot of guys named Mark Thomas in the world. One of my primary goals now is to figure out who he is and why he thinks hundreds of millions in debt and a struggling company is a worthwhile investment, even if it only cost $100,000.

For more on how Midway ended up in such dire straits, check out my "Midway: What Went Wrong?" story from a few weeks ago.

Update: The Wall Street Journal heard from Thomas' attorney, who described him as a "very private man" who bought Midway solely as an investment and doesn't plan to get involved in management.