ERP – The Wall Street Journal
E-Business: Baan to Announce Reorganization, Is Likely to Float Partially One Unit By Neal E. Boudette
03/27/2000 The Wall Street Journal (Copyright (c) 2000, Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Embattled business software supplier Baan Co. is putting the finishing touches on a reorganization plan that is aimed at unleashing value hidden in its diverse product lines and is likely to feature a partial flotation of one unit.
The Dutch company, which reported a disastrous fourth-quarter loss and saw the resignation of its two top executives in January, will announce the plan along with details of an expected first-quarter loss on April 20, acting Chief Executive Pierre Everaert said.
Mr. Everaert and Baan 's management board met over the weekend and will probably reach a final decision on the reorganization this week, he said. He declined to discuss the specifics of the plan but said Baan 's adviser, investment bank Lazard Freres, had conducted an in-depth analysis of how the company could best make use of its assets.
"We are now looking at where these assets fit in the market and what we can do with them," he said in an interview in Copenhagen, where Baan opened a marketing center with Microsoft Corp. and Compaq Computer Corp. last week.
Once a high-flying provider of software that enables manufacturers like Boeing Co. to coordinate internal operations, Baan has struggled in the past three years and lost money six quarters in a row.
Mr. Everaert, a former Philips Electronics NV executive who stepped down as Baan supervisory board chairman to take control of the company Jan. 4, indicated Baan probably won't emerge from the reorganization as a single, integrated company. It is open to strategic partners for some lines of business as well as a merger or alliance for the parent company, he said.
" Baan right now is structured in the classic way, with one center of development, one for financing, one for marketing. That is not working anymore," he said. In the New Economy, even obscure technologies or businesses can be leveraged to create value, he added. "The new generation of business says, if you can generate a return, you unleash the idea and grow it."
Although Baan 's market capitalization was as high as $11 billion in 1997, it is now valued at $1 billion. In Amsterdam on Friday, its shares closed at 5.20 euros ($5.08). They are down 64% this year.
One division of Baan where analysts see value is its Aurum division, which makes customer relationship-management systems-software that allows corporations to interact with business customers over the Internet. Mr. Everaert acknowledged that spinning off Aurum is one of the ideas Baan and Lazard Freres are considering.
Analysts have hailed the idea, noting that other makers of so-called customer relationship-management software have achieved towering valuations. The leader in this market, Siebel Systems Inc., has a market value of $28 billion on 1999 sales of $790 million. Baan doesn't break out Aurum sales.
Offering even a minority stake in Aurum could possibly yield hundreds of millions of dollars, enough to turn around the company's financial situation and fund critical development projects, said Bruce Richardson at AMR Research Inc. in Boston. With Aurum shares in hand, Baan also would have the kind of stock options that could attract and retain top executives. "Floating Aurum would be one of the smartest things they could do," Mr. Richardson said. "It would solve a lot of problems for Baan and solve them fast." |