BMC Buys Peregrines Remedy Unit, Aids in Companys Financing

BMC Software Inc. is adding help desk capabilities to its line of systems management software through its purchase of the Remedy assets of Peregrine Systems Inc.

BMC last week said it will pay $350 million in cash, plus assume the liabilities of the Remedy unit. As part of the agreement, Houston-based BMC agreed to provide the ailing Peregrine with financing of up to $110 million while the sale is finalized.

Under the terms of the agreement, BMC will acquire all Remedys assets, including its Remedy applications—IT service management and customer service and support solutions—and Action Request System, a development platform.

Once the acquisition is complete, Remedy will act as a separate business unit within BMC, which looks to be the leader in the enterprise management market.

BMC will combine its enterprise management software with Remedy technology to provide an integrated IT and service process view for companies to use in running their businesses.

Remedy, based in San Diego, has about 6,000 customers worldwide and generated about $250 million in revenues between June 2001 and June 2002, officials said.

Peregrine has been facing increasingly dire circumstances since last spring, when officials at the San Diego-based company announced they would have to restate up to three years in earnings because of accounting improprieties.

Following that announcement, top management left the company; its stock price tumbled; and, late last month, it was delisted from Nasdaq.

Peregrine last week filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy rules and said it will sue the accounting company Arthur Andersen LLP in connection with the accounting improprieties. Peregrine said it will seek as much as $1 billion in damages.