Nonprofit Direct Marketing Firm Barton-Cotton Files for Chapter 7

In the wake of the bankruptcy, the fate of Barton-Cotton’s more than 200 employees remains unclear. The company’s Patuxent Woods Drive headquarters in Columbia was locked with the lights off on Tuesday afternoon.

The majority owner of Barton-Cotton is Bethesda-based American Capital Ltd. The buyout firm bought 83 percent of Barton-Cotton in April 2006 for $144 million.