Fallen star Baltimore calls it a day

Irish internet security firm Baltimore Technologies has sold its core business in a deal that effectively winds up the company.

It said it would be laying off the majority of it 225 staff as a result of the sale to US rival Betrusted, although some would be transferred to the new company.

Baltimore's meteoric rise and equally swift fall epitomised the internet bubble.

At its peak the company was worth £5.5bn but today is worth just over £22m.

'The end'

The sale of Baltimore's PKI - public key infrastructure - business for £5m effectively turns the former FTSE 100 component into a shell company, while its directors decide what to do next.

PKI is used to make secure financial transactions over the internet.

It was the technology that made Baltimore a star of the tech boom, before it collapsed almost overnight two years ago when it admitted it was not meeting revenue targets.

The company has been offloading business units and shedding jobs in an effort to reduce the amount of cash it was spending.

In a statement, Baltimore CEO Bijan Khezri said: "This transaction is our last significant asset disposal and will deliver on our commitment to eradicate operational cash burn and maximize shareholder value."

Analyst Barry Dixon, of Davy Stockbrokers in Dublin, said: "This is kind of the final disposal... this is the end, really."

Share crash

In rosier times, Baltimore employed 1,400 people and had a lavish headquarters in Dublin's financial district.

The bottom dropped out of Baltimore's share price, which had already tumbled in the depressed market for technology, when chief executive Fran Rooney let slip to analysts in Dublin in March 2001 that the company would not meet sales forecasts.

The shares, which at their peak touched £15, immediately lost a third of their value and kept heading south.

Baltimore shares were down 4 points, or 9.8%, at 37p in afternoon trade.