|
Staff at the Dublin-based company were told abruptly on Thursday morning that the closure would take effect immediately. Ebeon is 51 percent owned by Eircom.
"The decision was taken last night after Eircom refused a funding request," said one source close to the negotiations, who asked not to be named. It is believed that Ebeon, whose chief executive Bill Donoghue was still speaking confidently about an Ebeon IPO earlier this month, had requested funding of around IEP5 million from Eircom.
"Staff were told at 7.15 this morning," said one Ebeon Java technician who said he felt "pretty shitty" when he heard the announcement. "It's a total shock. Our CEO Bill Donoghue was only telling the Sunday Business Post about how we were going to have 200 extra sttaff this time next year."
"Everyone is walking around in a bewildered state. The entire board has been here since 6 am."
The technician, who said staff have not yet been paid for this month, said he had no idea why the closures had happened. "What were doing was supposed to have been a big thing -- a global play -- but it obviously didn't work out."
In addition to its Dublin offices Ebeon employs staff in offices in London, California, Milan and New York.
Ebeon was first established in 1994 as Trinity Commerce and Donoghue was appointed CEO in 1998. Eircom paid IEP10 million for a 51 percent stake in the company 1999, which renamed itself Ebeon last year.
By Thursday evening a war of words was already shaping up between Ebeon and Eircom, with Eircom affirming that it had agreed in December to put forward additional funding of IEP2 million for Ebeon on the basis that the 49 percent shareholders matched that figure.
"We put up our funding, but the B shareholders failed to do so," a spokeswoman said. After that Eircom claimed it sent in an independent consultant to do a review of the business. "On the basis of the financial information available to us it become clear that we could no longer supply support or further funding for the company."
Eircom said that it had already invested more than IEP20 million in Ebeon.
The Sunday Business Post reported that Ebeon's revenues were expected to reach USD20 million in the 12 months to the end of March 2001. Donoghue said that anticipated annual sales would be USD200 million by 2003.
|
