Hard to believe that Baltimore Technologies was not long ago among the darlings of the technology sector, boasting membership not only of the Nasdaq but also the blue-chip FTSE 100 index of leading companies trading in Britain.
It all seems like a cruel dream now but, less than two years ago when the company took its US listing, Fran Rooney and his team were looking at dominating or even acquiring its more established US rivals.
It was a giddy climb for the £300,000 (€381,200)) company Mr Rooney took over in 1996.
But Baltimore has struggled to come to terms with the end of technology's bull market. Its market capitalisation has slipped from the stellar reaches of £7.5 billion - at which time it topped even that of Bank of Ireland - to the more humbling levels around £150 million.
Interim chief executive Paul Sanders now faces a difficult restructuring that will see the company shed more than half its remaining staff and offload Content Technology, now valued at no more than a tenth of the £700 million sterling (€1.1 billion) Baltimore paid for it in an all-stock deal last year.
It will also walk away from its once-cherished Nasdaq listing to save cash. As it was, Baltimore ran the risk of being forcibly delisted anyway as its share price had fallen below the key $1 (€1.09) level for a month.
Whether Baltimore's restructuring, or an upturn in the tech market, will take effect soon enough for the company to retain its independence remains uncertain.
It has already snubbed one suitor and, at the moment, there is no-one on the horizon but its current plight will leave it vulnerable in the coming months.
