New York-based Vindigo, an early mobile content company dating back to 1999, is shutting down and laying off its 30-plus employees, SAI reports. Separately, we also heard rumblings that the company shut down yesterday afternoon. The closure is not much of a surprise given the company’s convoluted past, which we’ve reported on extensively over the last few years. 

SEE ALSO: Zingy Changes Names To Vindigo; Closes Ringtone Division; Some Layoffs

In 2004, Japanese-based For-Side bought both Vindigo and Zingy, which together had a staff of 175. And, since then has suffered from constant executive turnover, multiple direction changes and business closures, including its ringtone, wallpaper and content application businesses, which was its bread-and-butter before For-Side took control. Early on, Vindigo was also known for developing MapQuest Mobile and numerous city guides, and it planned to shift back to those roots, but it never materialized.

For years, For-Side has been trying to sell the company, but hasn’t had any bites. Why? Reportedly, the company was asking for $10 million and a non-refundable $200,000 check just to look at the books, SAI reports.

Update: Jason Devitt, who ran Vindigo before he sold it to For-Side.com (JSD: 2330) and left a year later over disagreements with the Japanese company’s direction, has posted some thoughts on the company’s collapse on his blog. A year after he sold the company, Vindigo and Zingy were on track to bring in $60 million in combined revenue, he writes. “The plan was to combine the two U.S. companies and take them public. Six months after I left, most of my executive team had quit too. Vindigo and Zingy merged. The company went through four CEOs in three years, all of whom disagreed with For-Side about what the company ought to do next.” Since the company was acquired in June 2004, its stock has lost 99.5 percent in value, he added.