No resurrection for BenQ Mobile

There is to be no resurrection for BenQ Mobile - the former handset maker has announced would-be bidders for its now defunct operations have pulled out.

The joint venture between BenQ and Siemens Mobile will now be liquidated and its assets sold off, according to BenQ Mobile's insolvency administrator, Martin Prager.

Martin Prager said that now there is no chance of the company being sold as a single entity and relaunched. The remaining assets such as furniture, machinery or factory buildings will now be sold with the aid of an auction house.

The news follows the withdrawal of prospective purchasers who it was hoped would have been able to restore the company's fortunes.

The handset maker started life in late 2005 after tumbling market share prompted parent Siemens to divest itself of the handset business. BenQ Mobile filed for insolvency around one year later, after new owner BenQ decided it would cease funding the company.

Around 3,500 workers at the company will be affected by the liquidation although a proportion of them have found work at Siemens.