Xpedior putting its assets up for sale

The Chicago-based company on Tuesday said it intends to sell its assets and apply the proceeds to the payment of the company's debts and other obligations. The company said it was not ruling out the possibility of filing for bankruptcy.

To continue operations in 2001, the company said it needs to secure additional, "substantial" capital, but also said that it will be "difficult or impossible" for the company to obtain such working capital. Although Xpedior anticipates that its current cash holdings, along with cash that may be generated from operations, should be sufficient to meet its projected operating requirements through the end of June, it said it is not certain it will be able to hold out that long.

Xpedior also said it closed four unprofitable offices, which resulted in cutting approximately 300 jobs, or 42 percent of its total work force. Additionally, Xpedior announced several executive departures, a notice of credit-line defaults and a possible Nasdaq delisting because of its low stock price.

The move comes at a time when Xpedior, like other companies in its sector, has been badly bruised by the overall weakened demand for Internet-related consulting services. The sudden downturn in the market forced many players to trim their staff, close offices and implement cost-cutting measures to make it through much leaner times.

Citing a "significant" decline in revenue, Xpedior said it is shuttering offices in New York, San Jose, Calif., Denver and Dallas, as well as reducing its work force at both its Alexandria, Va.-based office and at its Chicago headquarters.

Xpedior President Anthony Capers, Executive Vice President of Operations Mark Hansen and Senior Vice President of Sales Robert Whitehead have resigned, the company said. No replacements were named.

In addition, Xpedior, which was once partly owned by struggling technology-services provider PSINet, said it has received notice from the Nasdaq that its common stock has failed to maintain the minimum per share price of $1 over a period of 30 straight trading days. As a result, the Nasdaq is giving the company 90 calendar days, or until April 17, to boost its shares to fit the requirement.

Shares of the company, which have plunged nearly 55 percent for the month, have recently been trading around 30 cents a share. The stock has hit a 52-week low of 25 cents.

Xpedior said it does not believe its shares will regain compliance with the Nasdaq listing requirement.

Last December, Xpedior closed several offices and trimmed nearly 32 percent of its staff as part of a plan to shift its business focus. At the time, the company said it would start emphasizing its core strengths in providing clients help with integrating their Web-based systems with traditional applications targeting specific markets such as retail and distribution, telecommunications, and financial services.