Welcome to the next installment of the i-mate saga. According to an interview between Jim Morrison, i-mate’s CEO and ArabianBusiness.com, i-mate is no more although this might only be true in Dubai.
Asked if i-mate would reopen, Morrison said it would not, adding that once the company had been legally wound down he would look to open a new company in Dubai.
Another report indicated that i-mate had been acquired by “Hillfoot Limited” and would continue to operate in Australia, Taiwan, the U.S., and the UK. Unfortunately, the report from Mobile Europe is no longer available. On top of that, the i-mate web site is down as I write this.
Morrison explained that the recently uncovered case of fraud cost i-mate about US$15 million, including a personal loss of about US$6 for Morrison himself. Combine that with a report that disgruntled employees are apparently holding on to some cheques, and Morrison indicated that i-mate was unable to pay the salaries of its 40 employees in Dubai. As a result, the company closed its doors.
I have a feeling that this is not the last that we will hear of i-mate.