Lernout & Hauspie put up for sale
President and Chief Executive Officer Philippe Bodson of Lernout & Hauspie
Speech Products NV (L&H) on Friday put the entire Belgian speech technology
developer up for sale.
Bodson said at an L&H shareholders meeting in Ieper, Belgium, that the
individual sale of certain parts of the company will most likely not raise enough
money for the company to continue work on speech technology, its core area.
L&H has only enough money to continue operating for another couple of months,
he said.
L&H has been trying to sell translation unit Mendez, with a target sales
price off $160 million. However, to date Credit Suisse First Boston Corp. has
been unable to find a buyer, said Bodson, adding it is likely the unit will
be sold below the asking price and a sale will probably not be concluded soon.
Sale of Mendez below the target price will prevent L&H from executing its
restructuring program. The company was planning to use the proceeds of the sale
to pay off certain creditors and finance part of the company's operations.
Because of changes in the market situation, Bodson said the only viable solution
now is the sale of all L&H units, the swift merger of units with other market
players, or joint ventures with partners. Otherwise, Bodson said, all personnel
will walk off to other companies resulting in an empty shell at L&H. However,
he did note that the plan to sell the entire company could be reversed if market
conditions change or if the sale of individual units turns out to work well
after all.
At the court-ordered shareholders meeting Bodson also presented L&H's results
over January and February of this year.
Net loss in the first two months of 2001 was $65 million, where a loss of $93
million was projected. Revenue was at $46 million, above the projected $41 million,
said Bodson. The company set up a financial plan when it asked for bridge financing.
The earnings statement will also be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC).
According to Belgian media reports Friday, company co-founders Jo Lernout and
Pol Hauspie as well as former managing director Nico Willaert are still in jail.
They reportedly were arrested Thursday as part of an investigation into fraud
at the troubled L&H. The public prosecutor in Ieper would confirm on Thursday
only that three men had been taken into custody for questioning.
ITworld.com
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