Doesn't matter if they were selling Purina cat chow or subprime mortgages - companies caught in a bubble meltdown can quickly go by the wayside

First, let me take you back a few years, from Pets.com:

Pets.com, the leading US on-line retailer of pet products, will become one of the first publicly owned and most high profile internet companies to fail, having yesterday announced that it has begun to wind down its operations just 9 months after its initial public offering (IPO). It has already laid off around 255 of its 320 staff.

The company, which did not expect to become profitable until 2002, failed to raise additional financing of $20 - $30 million necessary to keep it alive. It then tried without success to sell the company outright. The share price of the company dropped yesterday to just 22 cents, down from its high of $11 at the time of the company's IPO in February this year.

Now, let's compare to the statement recently by Sebring Capital Partners as they closed shop:

"We're in the process of orderly winding down," said Michael Waldron, senior vice president of legal and compliance. "We're trying to get people placed. We continue to explore all available options."

"We were exploring several different opportunities, and unfortunately none of them came to fruition in a manner that allowed us to continue as a going concern," he said.

Subprime lenders - who cater to borrowers with poor credit - are struggling with rising default rates.