Small Californian networking company Retix Inc, has fired its chief executive officer and chief financial officer and replaced them with the chief executive and chief financial officer of its Vertel telecoms network software development subsidiary, in yet another bid to change the fortunes of the ailing company. Retix restructured only four months ago, becoming the holding company of the successful Vertel business, and the troubled Retix data communications equipment company which was spun out and named Sonoma Systems, around a new Wide area network switch (CI No 3,263). Now Retix is at it again, and changed its name to Vertel, and decided to rid itself of control in Sonoma Systems, so it no longer has a majority shareholding, and therefore won’t have to bankroll the loss making business. The move rids Vertel/Retix of the dead-end datacomms business, which has made enormous losses for the last four years, peaking in 1995 at $31.8m, and falling back to $3.8m in 1996. The justification for the move, is that Retix can’t find the cash for investment in two emerging markets.
