Why Mirage Studios Closed Down

I get that many people were heartbroken the day when the birthplace of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mirage Studios, closed down after many years of dormancy. Following the sale of the Turtles to one of the biggest animation brands in the world, Nickelodeon, Mirage decided to just reduce operations to sell whatever merchandise they had left in the studio, apparently having been collecting it beforehand for display. But do any of you know the reason WHY Mirage sold the Turtles to begin with?
Think about it. You have a worldwide sensation, complete with films, shows and games. You have to juggle all that, plus the fame from it, and then you had to give it away so not only would you could go back to making comics, like you had been doing beforehand, but also to prevent it from deteriorating. But there would be a few repercussions, at least. 
If the Turtles had a place where they had more recognition than any other brand, Northampton, MA would have to be it. They were EVERYWHERE in town. Murals and graffiti would feature them, and everybody knew about them. They were even mentioned on TMNT TV shows. It had become like an idol to the town. The creators, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, are treated like celebrities.
Of course, there had to be flaws in such a beloved franchise. The live action trilogy was a bit campy, and there are some bad episodes of the many shows in the franchise, if you can name any.
Now, if you look through Mirage's history, then connect them with certain points in the franchise, you will get some interesting stuff. "The Next Mutation" and the inclusion of Venus represents Mirage's expansion in the 90's and the subsequent increase in TMNT popularity. Then there's "Turtles Forever", the first TMNT special to be released under Nick. Since Shredder is bent on destroying the Turtles across the multiverse, it would be logical that he represents the deterioration of the franchise, while Eastman and Laird's cameo in the special refers to the origins of the franchise while also the duo's desire to return to comic publishing. TMNT 2007's main plotline of the Turtles' separation refers to the Mirage team having grown apart since the sale of the franchise, while their reunion refers to the team getting back together to create "The Last Ronin".
Many of Mirage's characters that weren't TMNT were later integrated into the franchise, including the Fugitoid. They pretty much got rid of nearly all of their library and gave them to Nick, while they sank into dormancy and, eventually, dissolution. So... what happened? Why did Mirage kamikaze itself by giving away all of its characters in a single sale?
Well, if you notice the tenants, Mirage had been in three or four of them across the 25 years it was operating, at least after the expansion. The only way you could tell if Mirage was in there is if they had their corporate logo somewhere on it. One of the more noticeable offices was a white, three-story building in the middle of town that housed an AT&T store. Another noticeable thing was that there were Turtle gargoyles on the building.
In between the release of TMNT 2007 and the sale of the franchise, there have been a few claims of strange events happening around buildings where Mirage used to be housed. In October 2007, several months after the release of the movie, people reported seeing one of the Turtle gargoyles with glowing eyes, either having turned its head or went in a different pose. Some people even claim they saw it was missing from its pedestal.
There have been numerous sightings of a figure who first appeared at the Roundhouse Plaza, another Mirage tenant. It almost looked like the familiar visage of Michelangelo, judging by his orange mask and nunchuks, but according to the reports, he looked very different from what you would expect. The witnesses could not see much due to it being nighttime and that Mikey was seen in the distance, but from what they could tell, his arms were longer and thinner, his fingers were long sharp claws, and his mouth was open while he was taking a deep breath, revealing sharp teeth that looked like tiger fangs. No casualties or injuries were reported from that night, since the people claimed he just walked around the plaza before leaving.
Across the span of the two years leading up to the 25th anniversary, and eventually, Nick's purchase of the franchise, multiple other events began sprouting up, all of which were reported near the Mirage offices. They often involved "Mikey" in some way. There was even an instance where Mikey was spotted near a local Pizza Hut, one of the Turtles' favorite restaurants in the franchise.
Then, in 2008, Eastman said in an unreleased interview that he saw Mikey in a nightmare he had one night that year, and that's when he got a closer look at the figure. The mask was no longer cloth, but rather a piece of flesh stitched to the space around his eyes then painted orange. The eyes themselves were completely white, much like in the comics. The mask strings behind him were still flapping like a breeze was blowing them, but they were now strips of skin also painted orange. There was no visible blood from what Eastman could tell, but the sight of the mask alone was enough to make him gag. Mikey's tiger fangs were drooling, but he had no urge to eat the man, his creator, let alone slash him with his claws. Spikes were on his neck and torso, some even having been merged with his shell. 
Eastman stated that Mikey told him that he and the other Turtles have become too powerful for him to handle, and that he must give them off to someone else. He stated that Nickelodeon is the perfect candidate for the job, since Jetix was merged into Disney XD, CN Real is taking over most of the CN schedule and 4Kids was already too notorious for its own dubs that it can't afford to buy another franchise. When Eastman asked Mikey what would happen to him, he replied by saying that his career in the industry would be untouched. He would continue to produce comics and shows for everyone to enjoy.
Of course, Eastman did exactly what Mikey told him about. He sold the TMNT franchise to Nickelodeon, and he and the Mirage crew went their separate ways. After all, it is a phenomenon that cannot be undone through dumbass executives weaving their way into its business or other reasons. However, there is something I cannot understand regarding what Mikey said about "continuing to produce comics and shows". If he can get his hands on a copy of The Last Ronin, then maybe he and Eastman can negotiate a deal with Nickelodeon to revive the Mirage Studios brand...?
After all, they did make a new comic series called "Reborn", didn't they?
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