ADMINISTRATORS for the bankrupt Dutch plane maker Fokker said yesterday that a fire sale of remaining assets now looked inevitable after the Malaysian government confirmed it had pulled out of rescue talks.
"We are afraid the only option will be to proceed with our plans to dispose of the company's assets," said Mr Ben Knueppe, spokesman for Fokker's court appointed receivers.
Official word from the Dutch government on the fate of one of Europe's aviation pioneers is still awaited.
But the decision by the Malaysian government touted as Fokker's final lifeline - almost certainly signals the end of more than 75 years of aircraft manufacturing in the Netherlands.
"We entered into serious negotiations but I don't think we can proceed any longer," the Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Anwar Ibrahim, told journalists in Kuala Lumpur earlier yesterday.
Malaysia's secretary general of the Ministry of Finance, Mr Clifford Herbert, added that the problem had been over funds which Dutch counterparties in the talks wanted the government to put on the table before allowing it to look at its books. "Without due diligence, we cannot make a financial commitment," he said.
But Mr Knueppe said the initial sum asked of the Malaysian government was small and that the problem was more one of commitment to a deal he recognised as facing huge hurdles.
The Dutch engineering group Stork, which bought the profitable aircraft maintenance and components units, and the industrial investment group Deleye had been ready to help Fokker to avoid collapse.
Fokker's administrators announced on Tuesday that Stork had informed them of the decision by Malaysia's state investment arm, Khazanah Nasional Berhad. This was not to put any money on the table and had prompted Stork's withdrawal from the resurrection talks.
The Dutch government and the receivers have fought for a year to keep Fokker airborne after its principal shareholder Daimler Benz cut off vital cash support in March 1996.
The move plunged Fokker into bankruptcy and caused 5,600 job losses in the biggest single lay off in Dutch history. Its payroll which three years ago topped 13,000, has dwindled to a handful putting the finishing touches to the last three Fokker aircraft in production.
One potential saviour was South Korea's Samsung Aerospace. But after months of talks and the shuttling of delegations between Amsterdam and Seoul, Samsung and its partners decided the risks outweighed the potential rewards.
Mr Knueppe said preparations for the asset sale would be lengthy and would postpone Fokker's extinction until well beyond the summer.
