About to be picked up for a song by Austar United and buckling under the weight of a run of bad luck, Internet Service Provider eisa has started the process of cutting ties with CEO Damien Brady who was suspended yesterday "pending investigation".
Brady was handed his suspended sentence by eisa Chairman Evan Rees and his boots have been filled by finance director Ian Timmis in the interim.
It may be hoped that Timmis will have a good effect financially on the ailing ISP which is currently living off a short term dole out of AU$7.5 million from takeover party Austar.
Brady was eisa's golden boy back in February, heading up the company's takeover bid for OzEmail. When partners Fairfax Holdings' Internet arm f2, ANZ Banking Group, Hastings Fund Management and Disney Go Network put the clamp on cash injections which were needed to assist eisa's acquisition of OzEmail the deal was called off.
Left cash strapped and with a bruised ego, eisa was also left to chase a AU$20 million deposit retained by OzEmail and could only sit back and watch as its share price plummeted 30 percent on the day the takeover was terminated.
At a time when eisa's name was linked with the failed Edge Group -- which went into receivership owing AU$40 million -- and with a stockmaket value of 25 cents a share, there was no other suitor in sight until Austar arrived to save eisa's day.
However, the Pay TV provider valued the ISP at a mere AU$24.4 million and only offered shareholders 20 cents for each ordinary share. At the time Evan Rees admitted the deal "was not a good result for shareholders".
Brady, who headed up the company throughout these hard times, was unavailable for comment.
Austar told ZDNet Australia: "We haven't changed our plans. We're ploughing ahead [with the takeover]."
Austar hopes to lodge its bidders statement with ASIC today and eisa shareholders will be sent a letter of offer next week.
