Breakaway Breakup

CEO William Loftus and Senior Vice President of Professional Services John Loftus both left the company for personal reasons, according to a spokeswoman.

Wayne Weisman, chairman of the company and a partner at SCP Private Equity Partners, which is Breakaway's majority shareholder, is stepping in as CEO on an interim basis. SCP made a $33 million investment in Breakaway this past February.

Breakaway co-founder and previous CEO Gordon Brooks stepped down in April of this year.

Breakaway is also looking for a buyer or "other strategic alternatives," according to a statement issued by the company's board of directors.

The departures are the latest blow to Breakaway, one of the first companies to embrace the ASP model in combination with its e-business consulting business.

The company's stock, which was trading at more than $70 per share last year, sunk to below a dollar and was delisted by the Nasdaq in June.

Two months earlier, the company cut 180 jobs and closed its London and Denver offices. The company also moved its headquarters to Conshohocken from Maynard, Mass.

Breakaway also has not yet released complete financial information since the third quarter of last year. Earlier this month, the company filed a notification with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it was not yet ready to file its financial results for the period ended June 30. In its statement, the company said it did not file its quarterly report because management has been dedicating "substantial efforts to financing, corporate restructuring and operational activities."

The company has also failed so far to file its financial results with the SEC for the quarters ended March 30, 2001 and Dec. 31, 2000.