New kid on the Enterprise Resource Planning block, UK-based Tetra Plc, is due to make its debut on the London Stock Exchange on Thursday, with an expected company valuation of 40.3m pounds. A total of 12.3 million shares are being placed at 160 pence each, raising 19.7m pounds before expenses but the net new cash raised for the company will be just 1.5m pounds. The majority is going into the pockets of senior employee shareholders and other investors who were in early such as Schroder Ventures. Last year, Tetra turned over 22.4m pounds with net profits of 2.8m pounds. A further share offering is likely as, and when, long-term finance is required, although the company would not confirm this. Tetra’s pitch is to muscle in on the expanding ERP market with a modular package of software applications (currently 38 modules) which is significantly quicker and cheaper to implement than say SAP R/3. The idea is not dissimilar to the method being touted by Roger Covey’s SSA Inc, which sells its own modular package called BPCS v6.0. Fast implementation time is what makes the difference. If you want a system up and running in weeks not months, come to us, says Tetra. Competition wise, the company is often tendering against Baan Co NV, SSA Inc and Peoplesoft Inc but says that the market is still too new for any regular pattern to have emerged. The flagship product is called Tetra CS/3 which is aimed at mid-sized companies and runs on all flavors of Unix and Microsoft Windows NT, with a choice of databases from Oracle Corp, Informix Corp and Microsoft Corp. Tetra claims to be running 8,000 sites in 86 countries and big multinationals like Glaxo Wellcome Plc and Motorola Inc are running the software in many of their smaller subsidiaries while running SAP AG’s R/3 at head office. Revenue by country of origin is currently 51% UK, 33% from the rest of Europe and just 6% from the US but Tetra has opened two new US offices in the last twelve months, hinting at the group’s longer term aspirations. The share placing is being underwritten by HSBC Investment Bank which is also acting as sponsor and broker.
