- Baltimore Technologies
Infobox_Company
company_name = Baltimore Technologies, Plc
company_
company_type = Public
company_slogan = N/A
foundation =Dublin ,Ireland (1976 )
location =Dublin ,Ireland
num_employees = 12 (2006 )
products =Cryptographic toolkits
Public Key Infrastructure solutions
Secure email/web/e-commerce products
Baltimore Technologies was an
internet security firm founded in1976 byMichael Purser . It was acquired in1996 by a team financed byDermot Desmond and led byFran Rooney , who became CEO. In December 1998 the company merged with Zergo Limited, a UK company listed on the London Exchange. Post-acquisition, Zergo changed its name to Baltimore Technologies and Rooney was appointed CEO of the merged company. Under Rooney's leadership Baltimore expanded rapidly, both through organic growth and by a series of high-profileacquisitions . In 1999 the company was listed on NASDAQ and the share price soared in value during the internet boom as itsdigital certificate business was seen as a vital tool to enable e-Commerce. The Company showed considerable growth in both sales andmarket capitalization , becoming aFTSE 100 firm with a market capitalization of over US$13 billion. However, following the Stockmarket Crash ofMarch 2000 , its share price fell. Rooney later resigned as CEO inJuly 2001 [http://www.electricnews.net/news.html?code=1752818] [http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2001/07/15/story578450928.asp] .After Fran Rooney's departure subsequent management teams sold off the different business units that had been developed over the years in a series of demergers and by
December 2003 , following the sale of the PKI business toBetrusted , the company had shed all operating businesses. InMarch 2004 the board announced its intention to move into the clean energy space, starting with an acquisition, though no acquisition target was ever publicly identified. The plan was abandoned inJune 2004 and the company was acquired byAcquisitor Holdings ofBermuda inJuly 2004 following some acrimony between Acquisitor and Baltimore management. InFebruary 2005 Acquisitor delisted Baltimore from the FTSE.The company listed on the UK
Alternative Investment Market at the end of February 2006 under the symbol BLM. In May 2006, the company released an [http://www.baltimoreplc.com/press/2004/AGM%20statement%2031%20May%202006.pdf AGM Statement (PDF)] which describes the company's strategy as "becoming a financial services business concentrating on those specialist areas of the market where we have the skills and track record to obtain an operational multiple on the valuation of our shares." The statement lists companies that Baltimore Technologies has bought and sold, implying a strategy of investing in undervalued small companies.Sarah Flannery won the European Young Scientist of the Year award for her presentation of theCayley-Purser algorithm , which was based on work she performed with Baltimore researchers during a short internship with the company. The algorithm is named after Michael Purser.Fran Rooney was the subject of an RTE documentary in theRaging Bulls series, first broadcast onOctober 17 ,2006 .ee also
Fran Rooney *
List of Irish companies External links
* [http://www.acquisitorholdings.com Current official website]
* [http://www.electricnews.net/news.html?code=1752818 Electric News.Net]* [http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2001/07/15/story578450928.asp Sunday Business Post] "Bidding War Begins for Baltimore" (July 2001)
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