Customers and creditors of 5D are still waiting to hear the fate of the British manufacturer, writes John Oates
Customers and creditors of 5D are still waiting to hear the fate of the British manufacturer, writes John Oates.

5D made and sold post-production kit including the compositor Cyborg and the colourer Colossus which were used on films such as Lord of the Ringsand Stuart Little 2. The company went into administration last month ( Broadcast, 18.10.02). A host of suitors have indicated an interest in the company and as many as 20 closed bids are thought to have been made for the company.

July Thatcher, administrator at Tennon Recovery, said: 'A number of parties have expressed an interest in the company. We are putting a sales pack together and hopefully that will go out this week. A committee of five creditors has been formed to represent unsecured creditors.' She would not speculate on how long such a sale may take but stressed that some of 5D's assets were 'perishable' and would lose value quickly.

Penny Verbe, facilities director at Smoke & Mirrors which uses Cyborg, said: 'We've all been effected by the tougher market but this is just really sad. 5D is a great product and a great company. We really hope someone picks it up.' Verbe doubted that anyone would buy 5D simply to shelve its product.

It is believed that more than 20 companies are interested in buying 5D. Two executives from Discreet's parent company Autodesk were spotted undertaking a Cyborg demo at The Hive on Monday but the company refused to confirm that it was interested in buying 5D and its assets. Rivals including Apple, Avid, Discreet and even Microsoft have all been rumoured to be interested in buying the company.