Reorganization Plan Approved, Infoscribe Says : ORANGE COUNTY

Infoscribe Inc. said Friday that its plan to reorganize under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code has been approved by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Santa Ana and that it expects creditors to accept the plan later this month.

The Santa Ana manufacturer of computer printers also reiterated previously announced details of the reorganization plan, which calls for Infoscribe to be acquired for an undisclosed sum by Eurotherm International Inc.

Infoscribe said it will become an autonomous operating company within Eurotherm International, a publicly traded London company that makes a wide range of scientific and industrial instruments to control temperature, motor speed and other factors in the processing of materials. Eurotherm’s U.S. headquarters are in Reston, Va.

Infoscribe filed for bankruptcy in August when it was unable to meet payments on $2.7 million in debt. Eurotherm began marketing Infoscribe’s printers in Europe about a year ago and took over operation of the company Sept. 13. Since then, Eurotherm has pumped about $1 million into the struggling printer manufacturer.

“We believe Infoscribe has a very good product,” said Eurotherm International President Terry Brewer, adding that he believes Infoscribe would have succeeded on its own if it had had the funding to stay in operation after August. “The printer market is a difficult one, and Infoscribe didn’t have the financial resources to stick it out. We provided interim funding.”

Brewer said that the company now has 20 employees, down from 80 in August. He said that Infoscribe has been able to retain most of its customers and contracts and that Eurotherm has no plans to relocate the company.

Eurotherm earned $4.5 million on $75 million in sales in 1984. Infoscribe had annual revenues of $5 million when it filed for bankruptcy.