It’s going to take more than a Boogie Board to keep Wham-O Marketing Inc. afloat.

Beset by creditors who say it owes them millions of dollars in unpaid judgments and overdue bills, the company appears ready to raise capital by selling off a chunk of equity.

While any anticipated cash infusion might end a series of long-running financial disputes that have embroiled the maker of such iconic brands as Hula Hoop, Frisbee, Slip ’N Slide and Boogie Board, some vendors said it would be too late to salvage relationships.

Ron Isaacs, vice president of sales at Krenzien Krenzien & Associates in Chicago who has been selling Wham-O products to retailers in the Midwest for more than a dozen years, said he might soon cut ties because the company owes him more than $100,000 in commissions. It has been more than six months since he last received a payment.

“We kind of have this philosophy that if we don’t sell for them they will go out of business and we won’t be able to collect any of the money we’re owed,” Isaacs said. “But we are wondering how long this pattern can continue and how much longer we’ll be able to devote time and effort.”

Gene Sullivan, a former contract salesman for the company, said he was owed more than $40,000 in commissions for his work.

“The outlook is not good for Wham-O,” he said. “How they will try to extricate themselves from this, I don’t know.”

Ed Lord, who sold Wham-O products to Toys “R” Us Inc. stores in the Northeast for about a decade, has given up on the company. Wham-O owes him about $50,000, he claims, and last month he finally stopped selling its products.

“The last dime I got was in October 2014,” Lord said. “The company is so stripped of assets, I don’t think there’s anything to get. … They don’t have a sales force left, so I don’t know who’s selling their product.”

However, Kyle Aguilar, chief executive of Wham-O Marketing, said he has “a good handful” of salespeople working both in-house and as independent contractors.

“Just because they make those statements and claims doesn’t mean it’s factual or real or that Wham-O is hurting,” Aguilar said. “We always have items that we’re selling that are continuously creating revenue.”

Indeed, he said Wham-O planned to launch an updated website next month that will allow customers to purchase toys directly from the company.

“Wham-O has been around for over 65 years and the brand will keep going,” Aguilar said. “When there’s litigation, it’s just the process of doing business. And while there might be statements made, or claims made, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s correct.”

Puzzling picture

The iconic Wham-O products have deep roots in Los Angeles. The company was co-founded by L.A. natives Arthur “Spud” Melin and Richard Knerr in 1948 out of Knerr’s garage in South Pasadena. The company, officially now based in Chatsworth, still markets their iconic toys.

They sold the company for $12 million in 1982 to San Francisco’s Kransco, which was in turn purchased by Mattel Inc. in 1994. Mattel sold the business three years later and in 2006 it came into the hands of Cornerstone Strategic Management, a Hong Kong company owned by Janet and Jeff Hsieh, who bought it for less than $80 million. Aguilar was hired as chief executive in 2009.

Shortly after his arrival, Wham-O was hit by a claim from Agit Global Inc., a Taiwanese competitor, alleging it had infringed on technology Agit used to make snow sleds and body boards. Wham-O settled for $1.6 million two years later, but in 2013 Agit claimed that Wham-O wasn’t paying and a judge increased the settlement amount.

The original Wham-O Inc. disappeared in the wake of the settlement through a series of maneuvers that resulted in the formation of new companies. Wham-O Holdings, owned by Hsieh, owns the trademarks and patents for Wham-O products and Wham-O Marketing, owned by Aguilar, holds the former company’s inventory. Wham-O Marketing was formed one day after Wham-O Inc. settled with Agit in July 2011.

Aguilar said last week that he couldn’t discuss the current location of Wham-O’s assets.

“Company is private and assets are private,” he said. “This information is not open to the public and is to remain private.”

Wham-O Marketing received a bridge loan earlier this month from San Francisco private equity firm US Capital Partners Inc. Jeffrey Sweeney, US Capital’s chief executive, confirmed that Wham-O plans a private placement offering later this year to raise millions of dollars.

He said US Capital intends to refinance the company’s existing debt before the end of next month in preparation for a third-quarter private placement.

“We’ve had a lot of investor interest in this brand,” Sweeney said. “It’s a legacy brand and it has such a huge distribution.”

Aguilar confirmed the planned refinancing of his company’s debt but added that he has not yet finalized any deal beyond this month’s loan.

“Wham-O reserves the right to announce this when it is ready to announce, if it is to happen, if it should even happen,” he said in an e-mail. “All that needs to be known is that Wham-O is in a good position, has healthy financing and continues to innovate and bring new products to market.”