August 23, 2013

Colorado Customware says sale possible

DENVER – The chief executive officer of Fort Collins software company Colorado Customware Inc. told creditors Friday that the company was negotiating a sale with a potential buyer.

Lori Burge, president and CEO of the company, testified in U.S. Bankrupcty Court for the District of Colorado that if the sale goes forward, the goal will be to keep the company in Fort Collins. The company will seek court approval for sale of its assets.

Those details emerged Friday during a meeting of creditors in Denver related to Colorado Customware’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Colorado Customware filed for bankruptcy protection July 17, estimating less than $50,000 in assets and more than $10 million in liabilities, according to court documents. The company estimated it owed money to more than 200 creditors.

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Colorado Customware appears that it will be able to fulfill its “contractual obligations,´ said Tom Quinn, a Denver attorney representing Dorchester County, S.C., a creditor in the case.

“We’re hopeful that they’ll find a path to reorganization,” Quinn said.

Creditors holding the largest unsecured claims include Verus Bank of Commerce at $7.1 million, Vision Appraisal in Massachusetts at $2.6 million and Marshall & Swift in Wisconsin at $815,000, according to court documents.

“Our intention in filing the case was to preserve the assets so that they could be realized for the benefit of everyone involved and to continue to provide services to the clients and customers,´ said Michael Pankow, a Denver attorney for Colorado Customware.

Colorado Customware cut 60 jobs last year after it completed one of its projects, Burge said. The company now employs 30 people, and continues to provide services mostly to existing clients.

“We have been able to maintain a very solid group of employees,” she said.

Colorado Customware developed software for use by county governments, which complained that they had problems with software. Colorado Customware had agreed to return $250,000 to Larimer County in a settlement related to faulty software.

The company agreed to pay the county monthly installments of $3,333, but defaulted after making three payments. Larimer County Commissioners agreed in June to sue the company.

Burge said that the main problems with the software had been fixed, but “there’s still ongoing bugs.”


DENVER – The chief executive officer of Fort Collins software company Colorado Customware Inc. told creditors Friday that the company was negotiating a sale with a potential buyer.

Lori Burge, president and CEO of the company, testified in U.S. Bankrupcty Court for the District of Colorado that if the sale goes forward, the goal will be to keep the company in Fort Collins. The company will seek court approval for sale of its assets.

Those details emerged Friday during a meeting of creditors in Denver related to Colorado Customware’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Colorado Customware filed for bankruptcy protection July 17, estimating…

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