The war of words between Baltimore Technologies and the Bermuda-based Acquisitor Holdings group has intensified ahead of a shareholder meeting on April 26th.

Acquisitor Holdings, which owns 13.6 per cent of the company, has written to investors to garner support for its proposal to sack the company's board.

Yesterday Baltimore Technologies responded with an open letter to Baltimore's shareholders urging them to reject Acquisitor's "opportunistic approach".

In its letter, Acquisitor said it was concerned about the future of the company and that it wanted to protect Baltimore's remaining £24.7 million sterling (€37 million) of cash.

It claimed it had an unblemished record of acting in the best interests of all shareholders in pursuit of capital protection and enhancement.

It wants to remove Baltimore's directors, accusing them of overpaying for acquisitions and of paying its executives too much money.

"We want to protect Baltimore's remaining cash from being squandered by the existing board and invested in another unproven, high-risk plan that could result in the remaining assets of the company being wiped out," the letter stated.

Baltimore responded by saying that Acquisitor's correspondence showed "how little" it had to offer shareholders.

"They continue to focus on the past and make inaccurate statements.

"Crucially, they fail to present a single proposal of how to build a business," it said.

It called on Baltimore shareholders to reject Acquisitor's opportunistic approach by supporting the new board of directors at the forthcoming annual general meeting.

"We have a real plan and the experience to implement it swiftly and effectively," Mr David Weaver, Baltimore chief executive, said.