|
Little Hope For Creditors In Zultys Fire Sale [UPDATED] |
|
|
|
Written by Adam Gosling
|
|
Wednesday, 25 October 2006 |
Looking for a cheap and easy entry into the burgeoning VoIP
market?
Companies interested in buying up the assets of failed SMB
VoIP hardware company, Zultys are likely to pick up a bargain with a US Federal
Court judge planning to resume the auction of the company's assets [on the first of November].
The bidding will reportedly re-start at US$1.55 million with
three [bidders] showing interest in what is left of the company.
After a promising period of expansion via the IT channel,
the company erupted in a ball of flame filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection, firing most of its staff and leaving creditors more than US$40
million in the red.
Now a US
federal bankruptcy judge has halted auction proceedings to allow bidders to re-group
after the [bidders] asked for time to get more money and to agree on
terms of the auction.
Bids will resume Wednesday [11/1/06] US time at US$1.55 million with Founder
and former President, Iain Milne, one of those looking to pick up the intellectual
property still held by the failed company.
Milne was attempting to mount a management buyout of the
smouldering remains but fell short of cash as the bidding war gained momentum,
according to reports. He has now turned to former channel partners in a bid to
raise enough money to keep control of the business.
Other bidders include InPath [original story incorrectly said iPath] which kicked of its offer with US$700,000 before realising this was not going
to be enough and asking for a delay. inPath's offer reached US$1.2 million before
Pivot, another company seeking to access the VoIP technology, pledged to start
the new round of bidding by slapping down US$1.5 million forcing inPath to make
a counter offer of US$1.55 million. The judge agreed to call a halt to proceedings to allow time for bidders to work out how to run the auction.
Milne is said to be a
million short of a viable bid and is unlikely to be able to raise enough
capital required to retain control of his company in such a short time.
Pivot is a newly listed entity owned by Israel-based telecommunications
hardware company Telrad which
picked up [some of] Zultys' engineering talent after they were let go by the
company.
With assets worth US$1.8 million according to its balance
sheet, Zultys racked up US$41.8 million in unsecured liabilities and US$2.75 in
unpaid salaries before filing in late September.
Ironically, creditors which stand to get almost nothing from
a sale were keen to conclude the matter on Monday reportedly willing to settle
for one of the sub-US$2 million bids rather than allow the matter to be delayed
by two days.
Related news items Newer news items
Older news items
|
|
|
|
