By Suzanna Kerridge, 29 February 2000 00:20
NEWS ERP vendor Baan is facing an uncertain future following comments made by its CEO that the company could be sold. Speaking at CeBIT in Hannover, CEO Pierre Everaert, said he will not rule out a buyout as the company enters another wave of trouble. It's received a three-week deadline to reach an equity position with its shares that satisfy the Amsterdam Stock Exchange (AEX) and its backers Fletcher International, or face expulsion. A spokesman for Baan said: "We have a fiduciary obligation to our shareholders to evaluate all options to show the companies options and no asset or cost is protected from scrutiny. We do not have plans to sell but we do have a duty to evaluate all possibilities." Everaert also insisted rumours that the company has plans to sell off its Aurum, CRM software unit and Cap Logistics scheduling and planning software, are untrue, claiming there is no intent to break up the company. However the company has hired merchant bankers Lazard Freres to "evaluate potential stock alternatives and partnerships in the future." Industry analysts agree that Baan's troubles have progressed to such a degree that a sale is the only option left to the company. Mike Thompson, senior analyst at Butler said: "The company has sunk so low it is hard to envisage how they are going to get out of it. If the shares are suspended then I cannot see how it can continue and it has to be a prime candidate for takeover." He speculated that possible buyers could include Computer Associates, IBM or Siebel. Dale Vile, senior analyst at Bloor Research, said poor marketing skills and execution of projects and products are to blame for the company's failure. The company has little hope of regaining the customers and share price it has lost, Vile said. "When you buy ERP it is a big deal for the customer. This is a bet your business type of decision and this is one of the biggest problems Baan now has - do you want to bet your business on a company that is not doing well."
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