Sybase Inc has not by any means finished buying companies to enhance the value of its controversial Powersoft Corp acquisition, and the latest is Visual Components Inc, Lenexa, Kansas, one of the new breed of companies pioneering application objects that can be assembled into more complex applications. Sybase will pay new shares worth about $28m. The exact number of shares to be paid will depend on the price at closing, which is expected to be by the end of February. Visual Components develops re-usable software components such as spreadsheets, charting tools and spell-checking modules for inclusion in larger software development tool systems, such as Sybase’s PowerBuilder line. It will become a wholly-owned unit of Sybase, operating within the newly created Powersoft components unit. Sybase promises that the new unit will operate as an independent company and continue licensing its proucts for use in rival products such as Borland International Inc’s Delphi and Microsoft Corp’s Visual Basic.
