Tandem Computers Inc has more or less given up on trying to find a buyer for its UB Networks Inc unit, and now says it is considering having it become a separately quoted public company again by issuing new shares, and then spinning it off to Tandem shareholders. The company also said yesterday that it will completely reshuffle its senior management and reorganise by forming a new business unit around its ServerNet high-speed interconnect and related software. Founder and chief executive Jim Treybig is moving up to become chairman and a new chief executive is being recruited. The fault-tolerant systems builder says it is taking the actions following its uneven performance in the fourth quarter, for which it reported net profit of $19.7m, down sharply from $71m in the year-ago period (figures, page seven). The current chairman, Thomas Perkins, will remain on the board and will chair its executive committee. Robert Marshall, chief operating officer, and Donald Fowler, general manager of the Solutions Products Group, both plan to retire by the end of the calendar year. The company says that UB Networks will grow during the first fiscal quarter to December and be profitable. The move to spin it off will come at an appropriate time and when financial market conditions permit. The company blames delayed introduction of the ServerNet technology-based Unix products, which limited the growth of the Unix business and hurt revenue from the telecommunications industry for the poor performance.
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