Jump in if I've got this wrong... A substantial amount of BAANF's problems were caused by their distribution channel. BAAN Investments, which is closely held by the BAAN family, owns/owned interests in certain BAAN distributors. BAANF was recognizing revenue for product that was shipped to distributors, some of which were owned by BAAN investments.
This sounds a lot like "parking" to me and the stock got dinged accordingly. They recently held an analyst meeting and said they were selling certain interests to clear this matter up but I don't recall all of the particulars.
I am not aware of SAP being involved in anything of this sort.
Here's a news piece about the investment company:
Thursday July 2, 5:36 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Vanenburg Ventures
Baan Investment Changes Name to Vanenburg Ventures, Announces
Executive Appointments and Decides to Realize the Value of Its
Investments in Baan Business Systems and Baan Midmarket Solutions
PUTTEN, Netherlands, July 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Baan Investment B.V., the venture capital firm that owns approximately 39
percent of the outstanding common shares of Baan Company N.V. (ASE: BAAN; Nasdaq: BAANF) announced the change of its
name to Vanenburg Ventures B.V., new senior executive appointments and the decision to realize the value of its investments
in Baan Business Systems (BBS) and Baan Midmarket Solutions (BMS). These decisions will support the further success of the
firm by simplifying the organization, clarifying its role, and strengthening its investment focus.
Name changed to Vanenburg Ventures
Baan Investment announced that it has changed its name to Vanenburg Ventures effective immediately. The firm said the
name change is intended to clarify the independence of its activities from those of Baan Company N.V. and to eliminate any
confusion that could arise if public announcements by either company are attributed simply to ''Baan''.
New Senior Executive Appointments
Vanenburg Ventures also announced that two senior executives have been named as members of its leadership team. Graham
J. Sharman, 60, has been named President. Prior to joining Baan Investment in October 1997, Mr. Sharman was Professor of
International Distribution Logistics at the Technical University of Eindhoven in The Netherlands. Previously, he was a Director of
McKinsey & Co. between 1984 and 1997.
Mr. Sharman also announced that he will be resigning as a member of the Supervisory Board of Directors of Baan Company
effective July 7, 1998 in order to focus all of his time and energy on venture capital management at Vanenburg Ventures.
Jan Willem Krooshof, 46, has been named Chief Operating Officer of Vanenburg Ventures. Mr. Krooshof joined Vanenburg
Ventures in 1997. He has spent the majority of his career in information technology services, primarily with Origin. While at
Origin, Mr. Krooshof sat on the Dutch management board and was a member of the team responsible for internationalizing its
operations.
Decision to Realize the Value of its Investments in BBS and BMS
Vanenburg Ventures announced that it has decided it is the right time to realize the value of its investments in BBS. Vanenburg
Ventures has retained Goldman Sachs to advise in connection with this matter. BBS is a reseller organization specializing in
enterprise application solutions for the small and medium enterprise market that was founded two years ago and now
operates worldwide.
In a further evaluation of its portfolio, the firm also announced that it has decided to sell its 85 percent stake in BMS.
Vanenburg Ventures has retained ABN AMRO to value BMS. BMS was founded in 1997 to develop the first indirect sales
channel dedicated to bring enterprise applications software to mid-sized companies. It has rapidly grown to support more than
200 value-added resellers, system integrators, distributors, and other channel partners that bring enterprise applications
solutions to this fast growing market throughout the world.
''BBS and BMS have grown quickly and successfully. They now have the size and momentum to move to the next phase of
their evolution outside Vanenburg Ventures,'' said Graham Sharman. ''This gives us the opportunity to realize the value of
these investments and reinvest in new activities. The reallocation of assets is part of an on-going process that allows
Vanenburg Ventures to stay focused on identifying new business opportunities and providing them with seed capital and
guidance.''
About Vanenburg Ventures
Vanenburg Ventures B.V. is headquartered in The Netherlands. Oikonomos, a charitable foundation established by Jan and
Paul Baan indirectly owns 100 percent of the economic interest in the shares of Vanenburg Ventures. Vanenburg Ventures'
main activities include providing venture capital funding for technology companies worldwide and accelerating the development
of companies that supply innovative services and products in the enterprise applications market. As part of its core investment
assets, Vanenburg Ventures holds approximately 39 percent of the outstanding common shares of Baan Company N.V. (ASE:
BAAN; Nasdaq: BAANF).
SOURCE: Vanenburg Ventures
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