Marcam Corp has spun out its Foresight Software Inc customer information management business, selling it to investment managers Platinum Equity Holdings, a move supported by the Foresight management and employees. Platinum insists it is along for the ride, and will seek bolt-on acquisitions for Foresight. Marcam was not prepared to do something similar for Foresight, the Atlanta, Georgia-based company said. About 20 people lost their jobs as a result of the takeover, and the company is operating on a head-count of about 70. Foresight specializes in the customer software market with its Service Management System, by which it means software to link field service engineers, inventory, call centers, repair centers within service companies. It was previously Marcam’s MXP business group, and Marcam formed a separate company in December last year to prepare for the spin-off and reckoned it could grow from $17.5m revenues in 1995 to $20m this time(CI No 2,876). Foresight said it was now looking at a more conservative growth plan as far as organic growth goes, with acquisition-led growth far more likely. The company has a Web product line in development, but wasn’t prepared to say much about it, other than that it will probably sta rt with simple customer inquiries into the status of their orders. The products are due by the year-end, maybe late fall. Kent LaRoque, president and chief executive for about a year, stays in post.
