Baltimore struggles to sell unit

VC firm withdraws offer

Financially embattled security software maker Baltimore Technologies is struggling to sell its Content Technologies unit, which it acquired in an all-share deal for more than $992m in 2000.

The Guardian reported that the Dublin, Ireland-based company had been in talks with Apax Partners regarding the sale of the unit, but that it had withdrawn its offer at the last minute after conducting due diligence.

A Baltimore spokesperson refused to confirm or deny that Apax Partners had withdrawn an offer for its email filtering subsidiary, or whether or not talks with the company had been conducted, but would only say that talks were ongoing with "more than one other party".

Even so, it appears that it is struggling to complete the sale - last October it said it was close to a deal, claiming that three to five interested parties were conducting due diligence.

The unit has been on the market since August last year, as Baltimore needs to raise cash to keep afloat. Analysts estimate that the unit is likely to fetch only a fraction of the amount Baltimore paid for it, though a spokesperson declined to say what the asking price currently stood at.

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