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Postscript: BearingPoint Breaking Up

Company to sell off its business to competitors.

We reported in the April issue that BearingPoint Inc., one of the biggest companies in the Microsoft partner ecosystem, had filed for bankruptcy protection in February in order to restructure its debt. Since that issue went to press, the McLean, Va.-based Gold Certified Partner company announced plans to liquidate its assets.

In late March, BearingPoint announced an agreement to sell its Public Services business to Deloitte Development LLC for $350 million, and a non-binding letter of intent to sell its Financial Services segment to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) LLP for $25 million. BearingPoint was also in negotiations to sell its Japanese consulting practice to a PwC subsidiary in Japan. Those deals and a number of other regional deals that BearingPoint management was negotiating all require approval in bankruptcy court.

The management and technology consultancy had about 15,000 employees, of which 2,000 had Microsoft training.

The recession hasn't helped BearingPoint, but the company's problems stem from debt built up during an acquisition spree from 1999 to 2002 as the company was being spun off from KPMG LLP.

BearingPoint spent all of 2008 trying to find a buyer. Despite negotiations with 25 potential suitors, the company couldn't reach a deal and filed for Chapter 11 reorganization ahead of an April 15 deadline to pay off $200 million to creditors and a probable delisting from the New York Stock Exchange.

About the Author

Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.