CorVu gets an off-the-shelf Nasdaq listing

By ADAM GIFFORD

Australian software company CorVu is using a shelf-making shelf company to gain backdoor listing on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

CorVu, which makes business intelligence and performance management tools, has also just released its next generation systems and its web portal technology.

Chief executive Justin MacIntosh said the reverse merger with Minnesota American should be complete by December 15. CorVu's head office has moved to Minneapolis, but development remains in Sydney.

Minnesota American is selling the part of its business making shelving for school lockers.

CorVu will merge with the cashed up shell, and Minnesota American shareholders will get 25 per cent of the merged company.

Mr MacIntosh says this approach brings huge savings, "not just the $1 million it would cost for the IPO (initial public offering), but more importantly what you save in executive time.

"Before doing an IPO you need to do a roadshow and you have to go out and prostitute yourself to venture capitalists.

He says the listing will enable CorVu to realise its value, which the merger puts at about$US41 million, while raising capital for expansion.

It has already spent more than $4 million expanding in the United States, which now accounts for 51 per cent of revenue. Europe accounts for 23 per cent of sales.

Mr MacIntosh started CorVu in 1990 to automate the Balanced Scorecard model of business analysis developed by Robert Kaplan and David Norton at Harvard Business School.

The first products were shipped in 1993. They compete with reporting tools like Cognos and Gentia.

CorVu allows organisations to monitor progress towards their strategic objectives and to improve their performance and services by monitoring key performance indicators sifted from their information systems.

It has more than 2100 customers, including American Express, British Airways, Ford Motor Company, and in New Zealand, Fletcher Steel and Auckland City.

He says understanding and acceptance of Balanced Scorecard methodology has increased over the past year with some larger software vendors seeking to add it to their core products.

Asked whether CorVu feared being pushed out by the bigger companies he said: "the market is always there for good best of breed products, and that's what CorVu specialises in.

"We are complementary to larger companies and we are there to pick up percentage of the market.

"If we pick up two or three sales out of every 10 Oracle customer sales we would be very happy."

CorVu's latest releases include CorBusiness, priced at$US1500 a user, is aimed at the data warehousing and business intelligence market.

CorManage, a business performance management tool, has the CorBusiness applications as well as what Mr MacIntosh called "the most robust and functional balanced scorecard offering on the market."