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Thursday, June 18, 2009

Once called Avici, Soapstone looks to liquidate

By Jackie Noblett

Soapstone Networks Inc. is seeking stockholder approval to liquidate the company.

The Billerica-based company disclosed in a regulatory filing Monday its board of directors approved a plan to wind down operations and stop making its provider network controller software as of Monday. Soapstone (Nasdaq: SOAP) terminated 50 employees Wednesday, bringing its work force to 14 people.

Formerly known as Avici Systems Inc., the company thrived in the 1990s selling network routers during the telecommunications boom. But after the tech crash of the early 2000s and increased competition from industry giants Cisco Systems and Juniper Networks, the company began dropping production of the routers in 2007 and refocused its strategy on networking software. It renamed itself Soapstone last year.

Soapstone generated no revenue for the first three months of the year and booked an $8.1 million loss in that time period.

In a statement, the company said it made the decision to liquidate after searching for a buyer of all or part of the company’s assets or another transaction that would increase shareholder value.

The board also approved a dividend of $3.75 per share, although the actual payout could be less depending on Soapstone’s liabilities to creditors.
 

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