Shares in Ionica Plc lost a third of their value yesterday and crashed to 30 pence as the ailing UK-based radio telephony company admitted that it could an investor. Not surprisingly, chairman Sir James McKinnon has also decided to quit. To make this organization more palatable for the ‘strategic investor’, financial advisors are to talk to the company’s bondholders about a ‘restructuring’. Ironically, Ionica has overcome some of the problems that brought it to its knees. Upgraded software has increased the number of customers that can be handled by each base station and the net increase in new customers, which was running at 2,500 a month, has now risen to 3,500. The company now has 56,000 customers – which must make it appealing to someone. Ionica still has 60m pound cash left, which should allow it to struggle through the rest of the year.
