The deadline for the submission of bids to buy the former dotcom darling, Baltimore Technologies, passed yesterday with no comment from the company. The firm put itself up for sale in May following a tumultuous few years that saw it gain a market capitalisation of several billion pounds, before losing most of its value in the technology downturn, writes Jamie Smyth, Technology Reporter
A Baltimore spokeswoman would not comment yesterday on the bidding process, which is currently being managed by the investment bank JP Morgan.
She said further detail would emerge over the next few weeks.
However, one industry source told The Irish Times that interest had been expressed in the firm by several companies over the past week. However, it remained unclear last night if the software firm had received any binding offers from bidders.
It is believed Baltimore may attract interest from companies operating in Asia. Last year the firm sold a majority stake in its Japanese operation to CGI Limited, a special-purpose investment fund based in Japan.
Other potential bidders for Baltimore include existing software partners such as Microsoft and Oracle, or rival e-security software firms such as Checkpoint or Network Associates.
Baltimore, which was once managed by Mr Fran Rooney, the current managing director of the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), may now be worth up to £40 million (€57.7 million), according to analysts.
The company develops e-security software for corporations based on public key infrastructure technology. Baltimore has several blue-chip and public-sector customers including Telecom Italia and the Finnish government.
At its peak, Baltimore was valued at more than established firms such as Bank of Ireland and employed more than 1,200 staff. It now has fewer than 100 employees employed at its software centre in Dublin out of a total workforce of just over 220.
