PeopleSoft To Pay $5M For Calico AssetsPeopleSoft To Pay $5M For Calico Assets

Enterprise software vendor PeopleSoft Inc. will pay $5 million in cash to acquire the assets of Calico Commerce Inc., an E-procurement software vendor whose product-configuration software is designed for use with complex industrial products and services.

PeopleSoft is requiring the company to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as part of the deal. Earlier this year, Calico sold its trading-exchange division to hosting firm Digital River Inc. in a stock deal valued at $24 million.

Calico's procurement software guides buyers through the process of configuring complex goods and services online and provides pricing in real time. That will benefit PeopleSoft as it expands its base of services vendors and manufacturers whose supply chains involve highly engineered parts and specialty materials, or complex services agreements. The fate of the build-to-order and engineer-to-order software currently under development by Calico and Toshiba Information Systems Inc. was not revealed. Such software can be another key component of procurement systems that help industrial suppliers meet the needs of their customers for highly engineered parts and materials.

Calico was forced to restate its first and second-quarter earnings in May and was delisted from Nasdaq in June. The company later announced a reorganization plan designed to cut costs by $7.5 million. For the fiscal year 2001, the company reported a $17.0 million loss before charges and $77 million including charges.