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New Year 1998
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Industry giants Vmark and Unidata have merged in a stock-for-stock exchange valued at around $60 million.
The merger, the subject of much speculation in the MultiValue industry prior to any official announcement, involved Unidata shareholders receiving approximately 0.45 shares in Vmark in exchange for each Unidata share, in a deal described as a 'pooling of interests'.
As we go to press, the new combined company is as yet officially unnamed, but it is likely it will be called Ardent Software Inc, Ardent Software Limited in the UK (the domain name www.ardentsoftware.com has already been registered to a company in Westboro, Mass). It will be managed by a team of executives drawn from both partners. Peter Gyenes, president and CEO of Vmark, will be chairman and CEO of the merged company, with David Brunel, Unidata's president, taking on the role of president and chief operating officer.
The company will be structured around three product-focused 'business units', responsible for Core Databases and Tools, Object Technologies, and Data Warehousing - representing the relative strengths of the parent companies. These business units will be supported by centralised finance, engineering, corporate marketing and administration functions.
"The companies have a highly complementary technology strategy and corporate philosophy," said Peter Gyenes.
"Our goal is to give our customers the advantages of the combined strengths of the two major data management players in our market which means a commitment to on-going support for our current products and complementary products that deliver additional value."
David Brunel commented: "A consolidated approach to product development, product migration paths and marketing efforts will benefit our strong combined VAR channel and end-user base. We are also looking forward to growing the company by bringing the best of new products and technologies, such as O2 Universal Object Server and DataStage to the marketplace."
Each company's existing database products will continue to be supported, although some consolidation will occur in operational areas such as domestic and international sales offices.
Shareholder approval of the merger, and of the new company name Ardent Software, is expected on 10 February 1998.
Last Updated: 09 November 1998