Printer Friendly
The Free Library
4,488,990 articles and books
Member login
User name  
Password 
 
Join us Forgot password?

Ashton-Tate is ripe for takeover, analysts say, but CEO Ed Esber laughs at the idea.


Ashton-Tate A software company founded in 1980 by Hal Lashlee and George Tate to market dBASE II, which was created by Wayne Ratliff. The company developed and acquired other products, including Framework, MultiMate and dBASE Mac. In the mid-1980s, Ashton-Tate was one of the hottest software companies in the personal computer business. In 1991, it was acquired by Borland, which dispensed with all products except dBASE. is ripe for takeover, analysts say, but CEO Ed Esber laughs at the idea

Ashton-Tate Corp. of Torrance is very ripe for a takeover, analysts said last week after the computer software company reported its fourth consecutive quarterly loss and no news of a long-awaited new software product.

"I think it's an attractive takeover," said Aharon Orlansky, an analyst with New York & Foreign Securities. "They have a huge customer base, they need fresh management and someone who can take over and capitalize on their success."

Although Ashton-Tate reported a loss of $1 million, or 4 cents a share, on sluggish revenues of $57 million, the company has its balance sheet in position, said analyst Tim R. McCollum Elmer 1879-1967.
American biochemist and nutritionist who first classified vitamins, distinguishing between fat-soluble (A) vitamins and water-soluble (B) vitamins.
 of Dean Witter Reynolds, pointing out its $100 million cash balance at March 31.

Ashton-Tate holds about 50 percent of the market share in its flagship dBASE products for list management on personal computers, said McCollum. The company's profitability rests on whether a new version of that product, dBASE IV, Version 1.1 is released successfully and soon before another company grabs its customers with a better upgrade.

Originally dBASE IV was released in late 1988, but users found it cumbersome and full of errors. In the summer of 1989, the company began to lose money, finishing the year with a $29 million loss on lowered revenues of $265 million. An extensive testing program began for Version 1.1, but the new software may not be released until June, analysts have said.

Any number of companies with a lot of cash that could produce economies of scale with Ashton-Tate technology may have their eyes on the company, said Orlansky. Senior management will probably resist most offers, he added, since "they're not exactly underpaid." Chairman and CEO Edward Esber, said Orlansky "has a fantastic deal over there that he doesn't have anywhere else. He doesn't deserve that compensation level."

Esber, a Harvard M B A who was brought on board six years ago, made more than $700,000 cash compensation in 1988, and he exercised options for 537,000 shares of stock. In 1989, however, his cash compensation was listed as $485,000, plus stock options he did not exercise, and the current market value of his stock based on last week's $11.875 a share range is about $4.78 million. Two Ashton-Tate vice presidents also made $190,000 and $250,000 in cash last year in addition to other perks, according to the proxy statement.

Esber laughs at takeover speculation.

"The [Securities and Exchange Commission] rules are very clear on disclosure, and the fact is, there's been no disclosure," he said. "There's been these rumors for one-and-a-half, two years now. We're running this company independently and we're comfortable with what we're doing."

Esber, who as CEO said he takes responsibility for the company, discounted as "typical negative journalism" a front-page Wall Street Journal article this month that lambasted his performance at Ashton-Tate.

He admitted, however, that the company needs to come up soon with dBASE, Version 1.1.

In the meantime, "I think it's good management of the balance sheet [to have a lot of cash], he said. "There are companies throughout our industry that have a lot of cash. That's important in a volatile industry."
COPYRIGHT 1990 CBJ, L.P.
No portion of this article can be reproduced without the express written permission from the copyright holder.
Copyright 1990, Gale Group. All rights reserved. Gale Group is a Thomson Corporation Company.

 Reader Opinion

Title:

Comment:



 

Article Details
Printer friendly Cite/link Email Feedback
Title Annotation:Ashton-Tate Corp.
Author:Flores, J.C.
Publication:Los Angeles Business Journal
Date:Apr 23, 1990
Words:545
Previous Article:Convention officials wonder if they'll get a hotel. (Calmark Holding Corp. goes bankrupt, fails to build hotel adjacent to Los Angeles Convention...
Next Article:It's not over 'till it's over in battle for Lockheed. (shareholder Harold C. Simmons files lawsuit against Lockheed Corp. board of directors)
Topics:



Related Articles
Software producer Ashton-Tate suffers loss for 1989 as revenues drop 14 percent.
Ashton-Tate makes a phoenix-like rise on strength of new management and software. (David Proctor; William P. Lyons)
The whole industry's watching: computer software maker Ashton-Tate is mounting a comeback to recapture lost market share. (company profile)
Ashton-Tate remains strong despite losing streak. (computer software company) (company profile)
New chief promises Ashton-Tate success. (William P. Lyons)
IBM veteran draws task of ending woes in software division at Ashton-Tate Corp. (David R. Proctor)
Ashton-Tate Corp. unveils new database program; company's 12 percent stock price gain holds its ground.
Ashton-Tate Corp. director calls it quits. (Edward M. Esber Jr.)
Hold the champagne corks: dBASE ruling will be challenged. (Ashton-Tate Corp. wins software copyright suit against Fox Software Inc.)
Computer industry chips away at operating changes; consolidation, standardization emerge as new trends. (Industry Overview)

Terms of use | Copyright © 2008 Farlex, Inc. | Feedback | For webmasters | Submit articles