Attorney Ronen Matry and certified public accountant Omer Serviansky have been appointed as temporary trustees at the manufacturer of digital cutting and creasing systems, with each signing a personal undertaking of NIS100,000 (£20,520).
The trustees are authorised to seize, preserve, and insure the assets of the company subject to relevant laws.
Highcon’s directors announced that the firm would be seeking bankruptcy protection at the end of last month due to cash flow issues.
Around 50 employees been laid off, with 20 remaining to support customers with consumables and service.
Highcon has 85 systems installed worldwide, mostly in Europe and the US.
The process underway is understood to be similar to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US.
Highcon chairman Shlomo Nimrodi told Printweek: “We are planning on making efforts to revive the company.”
Highcon is listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. It posted 2024 sales up 117% at $18.2m (£13.8m) and more than halved its losses from current operations to $10.8m (2023 loss: $23.3m). The business has negative equity of $15.9m.
Trading in Highcon shares was suspended as of 7 April with the price at NIS4.5, and a market capitalisation of NIS 1,983,000 – the equivalent of £407,165.
The company’s assets include valuable patents for its technology, and it owns 16 patent families encompassing 62 patents “estimated to be worth many millions of dollars”, according to recent filings.
Highcon’s filings also stated that following a legal case that pre-dates the current situation, and that was conducted against an unnamed competitor for patent infringement, “the company is entitled to a fixed amount for all work to be performed by the competing company’s customers”.
The trustees are expected to update the Insolvency Commissioner before the end of this week.
