HCS Technology NV, until recently regarded as a high-flyer of the Dutch computer industry, is to be dismantled. Amsterdam stock exchange-listed listed HCS Technology, the management company HCS Beheer and HCS Automation Service applied for court protection from creditors on Monday, Financeele Dagblad reports. A further six subsidiaries also filed for bankruptcy and the remaining subsidiaries or associated companies will be sold off. Albada Jelgersma, with a 17% stake in HCS, will be hardest hit among investors. He is opposed to dismantling the group and resigned his seat on the supervisory board last Friday after a clash with HCS management. The liquidation was prompted by HCS’s chronic cash problems. A rescue attempt in January, which assembled all HCS’ problem operations into the public limited company and grouped the sound operations under HCS Beheer BV, appears to have failed. Group shareholders’ equity is negative by the equivalent of $150m after HCS reported losses of $285m last year. The subsidiaries filing for bankruptcy are HCS Engineering Systems, HCS Public Automation Services, HCS Vision Technology, HCS Logistics, HCS Facilities Management and HCS Office Systems. Floated on the Amsterdam exchange in 1986, HCS was once regarded as a leading growth in Amsterdam: the shares, floated at 14 guilders each, reached a high of 19.70 in 1989 but on Tuesday HCS they were marked down to just 0.02 guilders from 0.05 on Monday. The company ran into trouble as a result of an ambitious expansion and was forced by mounting losses to launch an equally rapid divestment programme in 1991. The final straw was the group’s failure to find a buyer for its 50% stake in US photocopier dealer Savin Corp.HCS made the mistake of buying a worldwide distribution network at too high a price. Savin in particular became a big burden, analyst Steven Rijk of CLN Oyens & Van Eeghen told Reuter. As the company’s problems escalated, the shares were relegated to the bourse’s unofficial list in June. The bourse recently fined brokerage Suez Kooijman which executed a huge July 1991 sell order in HCS shares for Dutch tycoon Joep van den Nieuwenhuizen; last month former HCS chairman Huub van den Boogaard successfully sued the company for 10 months salary.
