Page 132 - A Life - my Live - my path

My career – Management & Services – HI LLC

simply postponed. By March-April 2002, the situation had
become extremely critical again, and the investor who had
promised to grant the company a €250,000 loan was no
longer willing to do so, and despite my strong objection,
pushed the company into bankruptcy. HORIZON ICT was
declared bankrupt on September 2, 2002.
The trustee came to the company and asked me the usual
questions. When he asked me for an accounting statement
(balance sheet, income statement, fixed assets, etc.) - just as I had
learned to do with the IBS group - I provided it immediately
and practically on the day's date, as our management was
rigorous and in real time.
One day, he called me and said he didn't understand the
situation. To him, the company was very well

managed, HI-System seemed of very high quality and the
customer portfolio was excellent. I explained to him that the
company had a cash flow problem following the attacks of
September 11, 2001, and that the investor - despite his
promises - was no longer willing to provide a €250,000 loan
and instead saw an opportunity to buy out the bankrupt (i.e.
HI-System) for a knock-down price.
At this point, the trustee said to me: "That's right, your
former shareholder has informed me that he is ready to buy
out the bankruptcy". The trustee asked me if I wasn't
interested, as it was I who had developed and invested in
HI-System. I explained that the situation was not
favourable. He ended by telling me that, for his part, he was
forced to accept a takeover offer, as he had to add value to
the bankruptcy and pay creditors as far as possible.

120