Having mopped up its German outlet (CI No 2,267) Unix manufacturing software supplier, Baan International BV has acquired its two main distributors in the UK, Agility Business Software Ltd and the Triton division of CEP Business Systems Ltd, out of which it will form a wholly-owned subsidiary, Baan International Ltd. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the purchase was funded from venture capital raised last year, when US investment company General Atlantic Corp, took a stake. Baan’s distribution deal with Open Solutions will remain intact for the time being. The new organisation will have a staff of 28 and service between 25 and 30 customer sites. Management, sales and marketing will be based at former Agility headquarters in Bristol, Avon. Support services will also be offered from here and from CEP’s office in Harlow, Essex. The aim of the move, Baan says, is to reduce confusion in the marketplace by offering a single direct point of sale, and to prove to customers it can provide them with adequate levels of support without needing to resort to headquarters in Amsterdam, Holland. Baan’s ideal customers are corporate bodies, and corporate bodies like to buy from other corporate bodies, not distributors, it says – it’s the comfort factor. In fact, as a result of establishing a direct presence in the UK, Baan reckons it will add another 20 customer sites to its existing list and up staff numbers to 40 by the middle of next year. It also believes it can double sales to UKP3.5m to UKP4m by the end of its 1994 financial year. It islikely Baan will stay firmly on the acquisition trail – it bought its US distributors last year, raised revenues from almost nothing to between $10m and $12m, and sees sales of $40m in fiscal 1994.
