FYI. INTERVIEW - Platinum sees huge consolidation ahead
CHICAGO, March 16 (Reuters) - The information technology sector
will likely consolidate at a torrid pace in the next few years, leaving only a
handful of global companies, Platinum Technology Inc's <PLAT.O> chief
executive said Monday.
"Our entire industry is consolidating," Andrew Filipowski said in a
telephone interview. "There will only be a half dozen to a dozen of us still
standing in a few years, and we certainly expect to be one of them."
Filipowski said there are currently about 4,000 to 5,000 information
technology software firms, but that number dropped earlier today when
Platinum said it agreed to buy Logic Works Inc <LGWX.O> in a stock
deal valued at about $174.8 million.
"We're certainly thinking that (the acquisition) will have a very substantive
impact on our applications life cycle business unit," he said. "It will
leverage our industry-leading position in the repository business. Data
warehousing is another unit that will benefit."
Filipowski said the deal would contribute to Platinum's fiscal 1998
earnings, but declined to give a figure. According to First Call, analysts
were expecting fiscal 1998 earnings to be $0.93 a share.
The acquisition was among the largest in Platinum's history but will not be
the last, he said.
"Customers can't stand doing business with four thousand pesky software
vendors," Filipowski said. "They want a few major players. We're
maturing and when you mature there is only room for a few key players."
The key to survival is size and skill, Filipowski said. Customers are
looking for companies that can serve their needs around the world, and
that requires money, he said.
Including acquisitions, Platinum's revenues will likely reach $1 billion this
year, ranking it among the top 10 information technology companies,
Filipowski said. Platinum's stock was down 2-1/16 at 24-1/2.
((--Emily Kaiser, Chicago Equities News at 312 408 8787,
chicago.equities.newsroom@reuters.com)) |
