Nashua-based Ezenia mulls move to Seattle

Ezenia, a publicly traded software company, may be moving out of its Nashua headquarters to Seattle, Wash.The company, which has been in Chapter 11 since September, is “in the process of developing and implementing a program to reduce core operating costs and make operational improvements, including downsizing and moving its headquarters,” it said in a March 22 filing.The filing is asking the court to sell off assets of less than $7,500 without additional filings.The company’s bankruptcy attorney, Daniel Sklar, said that the company is considering moving to Seattle to be near Microsoft.The small company’s largest asset – worth $2.4 million — is a prepaid licensing contract with the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant.Sklar said the company has not yet decided if or when it will move, nor what the fate of the half-dozen employees who are still in Nashua.It currently leases its existing space in Nashua, he said, but that lease expires soon.When Ezenia first filed for bankruptcy protection, it seem to be heading for the auction block.The firm has a net operation loss of $72 million, which could be used as a $25 million tax write-off if it were ever acquired by a profitable company.But the company has been “doing very well” since the bankruptcy filing, Sklar said. In February, the firm had a profit of $38,000 in February and a total of about $109,000 since September 2011. In its last quarterly report in August, the company reported a quarterly loss of $1 million in the second quarter, and $1.8 million loss for the first half of the year.Ezenia stock is currently traded on the Pink Sheets, for about 2 to 3 cents a share. Sklar said he wasn’t sure if Ezenia would continue to be publicly traded when and if it comes out of bankruptcy. — BOB SANDERS/NEW HAMPSHIRE BUSINESS REVIEW