Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GST who wrote (140195)	3/5/2002 9:15:01 AM
From: H James Morris	Respond to of 164685

Gst, Peregrine systems (PRGN). Not one of my better investments.:( >>March 5, 2002 Peregrine Systems is looking to spin off or sell part of its supply-chain business, which provides e-commerce services, and said yesterday it has hired Credit Suisse First Boston as a financial adviser for the deal. The San Diego business software maker said the supply chain – or business-to-business – operation had about $120 million in sales in 2001 – about 17 percent of the company's total revenue. But those sales weren't enough incentive to keep the division, said Peregrine chief executive Steve Gardner. "You don't keep businesses just for revenue," he said. "That's what a conglomerate does, but we're not a conglomerate." The supply-chain business includes Get2Connect, an electronic marketplace that puts buyers and suppliers in touch. The system offers services such as secure messaging, document exchange and e-commerce transactions. Get2Connect focuses on specific industries, including electronics, financial services, petroleum and retail. Peregrine obtained much of the supply-chain technology through its acquisitions last year of two companies, Harbinger and Extricity, which cost Peregrine more than $1 billion in cash and stock. Harbinger facilitated Internet-based transactions, and Extricity developed Web-based communication technology between businesses. Executives thought acquiring the supply-chain division would open up new opportunities to cross-sell products with its main business, which focuses on software that tracks assets like computers and trucks within companies. But that didn't happen, Gardner said. And the supply-chain division wasn't making money. Over the past several months, Peregrine has been cutting back on expenses and laying off employees. The division is now making money, and is more attractive to potential buyers, Gardner said. "It's very difficult to take a business that isn't profitable and allow it to stand on its own and be considered by other people as a potentially good acquisition for them," he said. Peregrine's supply-chain business employs about 550 people, and is located mainly in Atlanta and the San Francisco Bay Area, Gardner said. Peregrine has about 3,900 workers. The e-marketplace phenomenon took a "nose dive" when companies found out that a third party wasn't really necessary to introduce buyers and suppliers, said Lauren Shu, an analyst with the Gartner research firm. Most manufacturers had already established relationships with suppliers, Shu said. E-marketplaces fared better when they enhanced those existing relationships instead of trying to create new ones. But the problems with e-marketplaces doesn't mean that the business-to-business – or "B2B" – industry is failing, Shu said. "B2B is not decreasing, it's not waning," she said. "If anything, it's still growing." Peregrine also announced yesterday the launch of a transportation software suite, which allows companies to track work orders, fuel transactions and inventory. The company also introduced property asset management software. uniontrib.com