Things move so fast in this business that at the UK launch of a string of new products from Informix Software Inc in the middle of the month included no mention of the fact that back home in Menlo Park, California, Informix had just agreed to acquire Innovative Software Inc, Lenexa, Kansas. A letter of intent for the merger has been issued, under which the shareholders of Innovative will receive three-quarters of a share of Informix common stock for each Innovative share, with further Informix shares reserved for issuance upon the exercise of Innovative’s outstanding convertible debentures on the same three-quarters-for-one basis. The match, which will create a company with a combined revenue of $40m based on last years’ figures, is complementary according to Informix president Roger Sippi, who will become chairman and chief executive after the merger. Innovative has recently converted its Smart PC-DOS office automation software for Xenix in an attempt to get into the multi-user marketplace. Smart includes a database, but Innovative President Michael Brown said that the ability of office automation software to store its data in more sophisticated database structures will differentiate the future winners from the losers. Brown, who will be president and chief operating officer of the new company, also identified the need for an SQL interface to allow the interconnection of office systems with larger departmental and company-wide systems. If all goes well the merger is expected to be completed by February 1988, but the turmoil on Wall Street could call the whole affair into question.
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