Apple Computer Inc has abandoned its attempted spin-out of its applications software arm as Claris Corp and has cancelled flotation plans and taken it back into the fold as a wholly-owned, independent subsidiary of Apple. It has been operating as a majority-owned subsidiary of Apple because many of the principals had share options. Claris will now add to its applications role the development and marketing of extensions to Apple’s system software, although Apple will continue to develop its own core system software. Claris will also develop and market products that bridge Macintosh with other computing environments, and will consider licensing some technologies to software developers for incorporation in new applications. Another reason for abandoning the flotation was that $100m-a-year Claris was told by its investment bankers that for a successful float it would have to commit to developing MS-DOS software as well as software for Apple machines. According to the Wall Street Journal this was unacceptable to Apple, which decided it needed a captive capability for Macintosh applications, expecially as the independent software developers that resented having to compete with Apple have been so successful that they now have the resources to diversify into other software environments with their Macintosh programs.
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