Baltimore to relist as investment firm

BALTIMORE, the technology company once valued at €10 billion, is to make a return to the stock market.

Baltimore, which delisted from the London stock exchange in 2005 after selling all of its operating businesses, is merging with its largest shareholder and a financial advisory firm to form an investment services company.

The combined businesses will then list on London’s Alternative Investment Market with a value of around €50 million.

Baltimore was delisted from the markets by Aquisitor Holdings, which owns just under 30% of the company. Under a deal announced yesterday, Baltimore will buy Acquisitor Holdings and New York Holdings, which advises on investment strategies.

Baltimore chairman David Buchler said the company’s only asset was a substantial cash pile and he has been looking for suitable investment for this. The delisting was agreed last year, but the company promised to relist the shares once it could find a use for the cash.

“We have a management team with a wealth of experience in private and public company investment and look forward to reporting their success in generating substantial returns for shareholders,” he said yesterday.

There are still around 20,000 small shareholders in Baltimore, most of whom are sitting on substantial losses from their investment.

Dublin-based Baltimore was once the darling of the technology industry and the stock market. The company started life developing internet security software, but lost favour once the dotcom bubble burst.

In 2001, the company’s driving force, Fran Rooney, was ousted as chief executive and a new management team was installed in a bid to return Baltimore to profitability.

However, its share price collapsed and it was forced to sell off its core business to survive.

A plan to turn Baltimore into a renewable energy company failed to materialise and Acquisitor used its stake to gain control of the board in 2004.