Buyers line up bids for fallen Rock

The sale of Rock could be just days from completion, with several suitors poised to submit their bids for the fallen system builder as CRN went to press

Rock went into administration on 8 May after cashflow difficulties forced it to stop trading. This was caused partly by stock misappropriation by a former employee.

David Langton, joint administrator at accountancy firm Deloitte & Touche, said he was confident of selling both the business and assets as a going concern within about a week. Centerprise is among those linked to a possible deal, although the system builder declined to comment.

“I can confirm that there are a number of interested parties in Rock,” said Langton. “They have been spending a considerable amount of time undertaking due diligence and are due to send in their submissions for the business shortly.”

Meanwhile, sources close to events raised a number of concerns about Rock’s demise and questioned the actions of parent company Rok ­ which took a 51 per cent stake in Rock in January.

“Following the announcement that a controlling interest was sold by the holding company, creditors want to know who was making the key decisions and who was running the show,” said one insider.

Hans Henrik Enoksen, UK chief executive of United Digital Memory, a creditor of Rock, was unhappy about the administration. “We will be pursuing this until the end and will get our money back,” he said.

Another source felt the administration was a way of getting rid of the creditors. “Once all the creditors have gone, the company will start up again,” it said.

Both Rock and Rok failed to return CRN’s calls.