Expressions of interest made for assets of liquidated software firm, court told

There have been several expressions of interest in acquiring the assets of a now liquidated software company that provides its corporate customers with specialised online payment platforms, the High Court has heard.

Marco Polo Network Operations (Ireland) Limited, which has a registered address at Penrose Dock, Cork, sought the appointment of liquidators last month after a proposed $12 million (€11.24 million) investment from Bank of America fell through.

The company has liabilities of over €5.2 million. Its current liabilities exceed the total value of assets by €2.5 million.

Its biggest creditor is Revenue, which is owed €2.6 million.

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When the matter returned before the High Court on Monday, Ms Justice Eileen Roberts confirmed the appointment Ken Fennell and Andrew O’Leary of Interpath Advisory Services as liquidators to the firm.

There were no objections to the application to confirm the joint liquidator’s appointments, which was made by the company’s counsel Stephen Byrne.

Mr Brady, for the liquidators, said his clients had taken certain steps since their appointment on a provisional basis by the court in February.

Counsel said the liquidators had been in discussions with the company’s employees, creditors and customers.

Steps were taken to keep the company’s platforms operational so that its customers could continue to use its software, Mr Brady added.

Counsel said there had been several expressions of interest from unnamed parties made about acquiring the company’s assets.

Counsel said that there was value in the software company’s intellectual property.

A number of these parties had made requests for information about the assets, counsel said, adding that formal bids for the assets were expected to be made shortly.

The company, which commenced trading in 2016, provided software platforms that allowed banks and corporate customers connected via a blockchain-distributed ledger network to make transactions.

A blockchain is essentially a digital ledger of transactions that is duplicated and distributed across the entire network of computer systems on the blockchain.

Often used in cryptocurrency transactions, blockchain is a system to record information in a way that makes it extremely difficult to change, hack or cheat.

Previously the High Court heard that the company’s difficulties arose after it invested a lot of resources on the proposed partnership with Bank of America, which would have seen the company’s product replace the bank’s own internal account automation service.

Last November, following the high-profile collapse of one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges FTX Trading Ltd, the bank decided not to invest in blockchain-related businesses.

While further discussions took place with the bank in the latter months of 2022 and early 2023, the company claims that in late January the bank said it was not proceeding with the partnership.

The company claims it made efforts to raise further investment to cover the bank’s withdrawal, but this did not prove possible, and resulted in the company bringing a petition seeking its winding-up.

The court heard that the Irish company is the parent of subsidiaries in the UK, USA and Singapore, and employs 91 people.