News
Change hits SCM -- Serena bids for Merant
- By Jack Vaughan
- March 4, 2004
Mainframe change management software expert Serena Software Inc. moved this
week to buy longtime distributed software configuration software maker Merant.
Serena is partnering with investment house Lehman Brothers to pursue a tender
offer for Merant, which, although headquartered in Hillsboro, Ore., is owned by
U.K.-based Merant PLC. The cash-and-stock deal was valued at about $380
million.
If the proposed deal goes through, Serena would rate second in a software
change and configuration software market led by IBM Rational. Last year, Serena
bought request management software maker TeamTrack in a notable push beyond its
mainframe software stronghold.
''We think the opportunity for selling mainframe products into Merant's
customer base is large,'' said Serena CEO Mark Woodward. ''Even more important
will be our ability to go into a very large installed base of Merant's PVCS
customers and sell TeamTrack, ChangeMan DS or Dimensions [software].'' Woodward
noted that there are opportunities to sell PVCS into Serena's installed base as
well. He added that the proposed purchase would greatly extend Serena's
geographic reach.
Reduced costs are expected, as the combined companies share infrastructure.
CEO Woodward said the deal could close in the late-April or early-May
timeframe.
Merant came to prominence as a configuration player based on tools originally
offered by Sage Software and Polytron. Merant, in effect, ''returned to its
configuration roots'' in recent years as it jettisoned DataDirect middleware,
MicroFocus mainframe 4GL tools and other offerings.
About the Author
Jack Vaughan is former Editor-at-Large at Application Development Trends magazine.