Eclipse Networks will close its doors for the final time next month, leaving almost 300 employees looking for jobs at a time when SA is coming out of a recession.
The company was placed under judicial management on 19 March, and put into provisional liquidation last week. The court is set to make the liquidation final on 18 May.
Deon Botha, a liquidator with Corporate Liquidators, says he was unable to wrap up a deal with an unnamed white knight and - pending a miracle - the company will be dissolved.
Letters are being sent out to staff informing them of the pending liquidation, and creditors' reports are being prepared, he adds.
Millions owed
Eclipse is believed to owe creditors in the region of R50 million. Its largest creditor is MB Technologies' operating entity, Tarsus, which has been blamed for the company's demise through comments posted by staff on ITWeb.
MB Technologies (MBT) CEO Glenn Fullerton has denied these allegations, saying it was mismanagement that led to the company's demise.
exclusive interview that the company has been in difficulty for about two years as it grew too fast and took on too many product lines. He says MBT had extended it a long line of credit, but is now owed millions by the company, some of which has been outstanding for years.
Reckless
MBT withdrew as a supplier to the company earlier this year, when it became obvious it would be reckless to extend it any more credit. Its model is to insure the products it sells through Credit Guarantee. In March, Credit Guarantee withdrew its cover over Eclipse across the industry, explains Fullerton.
Subsequently, Credit Guarantee insisted that MBT enforce its rights to the millions owning, and put Eclipse into provisional liquidation.
Botha had been hopeful that the white knight would sign a deal on Sunday, a deadline that was then moved to yesterday afternoon. In the meantime, the team of liquidators had been trying to ascertain which of the company's contracts were still viable.
Eclipse started trading in 1981, and had 13 outlets across SA when it went under administration. It called itself an IT reseller and ICT solutions and services provider. Its offerings spanned infrastructure, data centre solutions, outsourcing and related services.
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