Well it seems that ISYS is waiting for news...maybe it's round the corner !

SSA leads chase to buy Baan

2 May 2003 SSA Global Technologies will shortly conclude the purchase of Invensys' Baan software subsidiary, according to mounting rumours circulating in the City of London.

The revitalised enterprise resource planning (ERP) software vendor SSA GT is set to conclude a deal within weeks for Baan — and for radically less than the $708 million that Invensys, the troubled engineering conglomerate, paid for it in 2000.

SSA GT is awash with cash after raising $75 million from venture capital group General Atlantic Partners just last month. CEO Mike Greenough's plans to make SSA GT a $400 million company by July 2003 are well known. It even retains a head of acquisitions to research potential opportunities.

Both Baan and SSA GT were once top five ERP software vendors.

In April 2002, SSA bought the Interbiz ERP division of Computer Associates, but its revenues still run far short of Greenough's target. In the second fiscal quarter to the end of January 2003, the company posted revenues of $64 million, up 55% on the same period a year earlier.

System Software Associates (SSA) was one of the stars of the early enterprise resource planning (ERP) software sector, but sales collapsed dramatically in the mid-1990s following the botched introduction of new product.

Called BPCS 6, the package was bug-ridden and, before those bugs had been ironed out, the company tried to force users into upgrading. That led to a fall in sales and a crisis of confidence from which it never recovered.

It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2000 and the assets were purchased by Gores Technology Group in July of that year. In May 2001, another venture capital investor, Cerberus, took a majority stake in the company.

http://www.infoconomy.com/pages/news-and-gossip/group78868.adp

NEWS

Morley Fund Management no longer have notifiable interests.
This means they sold some/all of their shares

Howevever,they did not exit before so it is not very bad --- in my opinion
rgds aj

Oversold !

NEWS
E.G.M.Result.rgds aj

Prospects not looking good. Company need to raise more cash to pay off bank debt in June. Recent sales have not yielded the cash they expected, any upcoming sales may be done below market because of the need to repay this debt in June.

Keep selling to 14p is my advice, the debt is not going away until they sell a few more assets and they may find it a bit difficult.

Sorry but I think that the bottom has been called. Anyone selling to 14p will be mad !

My Prayer Mat is Facing East :-(

Bought 30k worth this morning @17.25 and hoping for a 2p gain

which should bring a modest profit........famous last words!

If ISYS can off load various parts of thier operations at break

even point which should please bankers and investor alike.

I am in for the very short term!!

Good luck to all!!

Jeff

UPDATE 1-Invensys rights issue imminent - dealers
Fri 30 January, 2004 18:03
RELATED REPORTS
ISYS.L Profile Report





By Louise Heavens

LONDON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Shares in debt-laden UK engineer Invensys Plc ISYS.L ended over eight percent up on Friday amid talk the firm was close to launching a rights issue on terms far less dilutive to earnings than originally feared, dealers said.

Invensys, which is selling off non-core businesses to cut debt and strengthen its balance sheet, declined to comment on the market talk, which propelled its stock to its highest close in nearly two weeks.

The shares, which rose in the last 30 minutes of trading, closed 1-3/4 pence higher at 22 pence, valuing the company at around 770 million pounds ($1.4 billion).

Just three months ago Invensys said when it cut its estimate of the proceeds it expected from its asset disposals that it was exploring alternative financing in banking and capital markets.

The company said the refinancing options would depend on trading performance, market conditions, the success of its asset sales and the status of legacy liabilities such as pensions.

Dealers said the market talk was that the firm would offer investors one new share for every existing share, compared with talk of a two-for-one rights issue less than two weeks ago that had sparked a sell-off in the company's shares at the time.

A rights issue, though earnings diluting, could bolster the balance sheet and take some of the immediate pressure off the company's asset disposal programme, traders said.

"They'd get a better price for their subsidiaries," said one trader, who asked not to be named.

Dealers reported a wide price range of between 10-18 pence a share for the offer.

Investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein said in a research note earlier this month that a rights issue would be an "extremely sensible move" for Invensys, and upgraded the stock to "buy" from "reduce".

"A rights issue would give the company breathing space to complete the disposal programme and position the company for a long expected takeover by Siemens SIEGn.DE ," analysts at the bank wrote in the note.

Dresdner said it believed Invensys could issue 3.3 billion new shares at 15 pence a share. (Additional reporting by Chris Slocombe and Daniel Morrissey)

Invensys secures 2.7bn refinancing
Debt rescheduling and share issue ends need for sell-offs and puts group on firmer footing
By Saeed Shah
06 February 2004


Rick Haythornthwaite can for the first time run Invensys as a business, rather than just fight for its survival. The engineering giant was a mess long before Mr Haythornthwaite got there. He was put in place in 2001 to try to make the company work. It couldn't. However, a 2.7bn refinancing announced yesterday puts Invensys on a secure footing at last.

Mr Haythornthwaite, 47, came in with a reputation riding high as a something of a City wonder-boy, after he put up a much-applauded defence against a hostile bid as chief executive of Blue Circle. But the seemingly permanent crisis that is Invensys soon threatened to sink him.

After grappling with debt, the economic downturn, a pension black hole and forced disposals, he could finally sit back yesterday with some breathing space.

The refinancing package announced yesterday was so comprehensive that Invensys was able to call off most of its disposal programme. Appliance Control and Climate Controls, two big and well-regarded businesses that were put up for sale last April as part of a 2bn disposal programme, were taken off the market.

A placing and open offer will raise 450m, while a further 625m will come from a high-yield bond issue and there is a new five-year bank facility of 1.6bn.

This is a major turnaround from the situation the company faced in November, when it admitted that its disposal programme was not going well and that it might need to come up with alternatives. The company had been facing a 515m debt repayment in June and it was not likely to have the money.

Mr Haythornthwaite admits that he cannot be said to have been pursuing anything approaching "a strategy" at Invensys. So far, at least. "When I came in, the company had already been read the last rites. Then things got worse," he says.

"I did find some good businesses but it was a struggle with the financial issues rather than tackling the operational side.... It was not a way to run a business."

Invensys was formed in 1999 by the merger of Siebe and BTR. The dysfunctional resulting company was made up of dozens of unrelated engineering businesses, from manufacturing controls for factory conveyor belts to railway signals. It was led by the pugnacious Allen Yurko.

However, as a capital goods manufacturer, the newly merged company was entirely dependent on the state of the economy. Economic conditions soon faltered, cutting income to the point at which it could not handle its debt pile.

What followed was a painful series of profit warnings and repeated lay-offs of staff. Mr Yurko quit.

Mr Haythornthwaite brought in a considerably more charming approach, but the mode of the company remained one of fire-fighting. Divestments followed. However, by April last year the company was still drowning in debt and plans for further 2bn worth of disposals were announced. Invensys did manage to sell metering systems last year for 390m but this was far less than expected.

By November last year, things were not looking good. The liquidity crisis was spooking customers. Potential buyers of businesses knew that Invensys was desperate and were exploiting the situation. Total liabilities were estimated at 2.3bn. The company admitted it needed a plan B.

Mr Haythornthwaite then toured the City, meeting shareholders and, as he says, "the conversation turned to 'what if'". The outline of a rescue plan that investors would support began to come together.

The rise in Invensys shares in recent days, with a further 12 per cent jump yesterday to 26.5p, was testament to the relief felt in the City. Strong and well-sourced rumours of a rights issue, which have been circulating in the Square Mile for more than two weeks, had very helpfully been pushing up the share price anyway.

The placing announced was at 21.5p a relatively small discount of 9.5 per cent to the closing share price on Wednesday: not bad for a rescue refinancing. The package comes at a cost of 108m, meaning a bonanza for the City advisers involved led by Cazenove, Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley.

Mr Haythornthwaite now has five years' money in place. The shares offer is fully under-written. Current trading is not brilliant but is "satisfactory". Appliance Controls and Climate controls are to be retained. "Now, for the first time, we can tackle things from the front foot," he says.

Analysts point out that Invensys does not offer massive earnings growth potential as its businesses were performing reasonably debt was the issue. And Mr Haythornthwaite will admit that the six main businesses he has today do not go together naturally. There is no guarantee that the company will not still be ultimately broken up. But at least Mr Haythornthwaite now has a chance to actually run the company, develop a strategy and ride the economic recovery.

from http://uk.biz.yahoo.com/040923/237/f363x.html

*Gossips believe Invensys (LSE: ISYS.L - news - msgs) has received a very preliminary takeover approach from Siemens

don't hold your breath!

This another example of British businessmen not having the skills to move with the times.
Taking on Debt is plain madness unless it's covered by orders and some fall-back position should the customer fold. It never ceases to amaze me that Directors win whatever they do.
When the employees are made redundant it's the country that has to carry them and their dependants - we should send the directors to jail so they can't wreck other businesses - and it would have a terific effect on concentration in the Boardrooms in the UK.
"No nodding off at the back! Snoggins, just what was that investment plan?"

This is like Corus a year ago. Can we see 56p this year?

hightech
I think you could be right I hold these and its nice to see them ticking up a bit at a time, no rush.

Invensys is back on its foot.

will the sp follow????

Out of the woods on tip toe "Holding"

The sp will follow.

Are you sure that it won't go down to 11p???

Any reason for the fall?

Does anyone know their cash position?
Are we looking into a void of impossible dimensions?
Is there any value within their operations - or are we witnessing a Marconi where Management is blisfully buying duds to complete their set of Directorships?
/
It's a shame companies are not subject to instant inspection, rather like the VAT-man can pounce......except in large companies he rarely does because the accounts are in two offices in separate towns.......Grr.
/
I've held a small position in this co but I think we can forget ever getting back to 50p let alone a ten-bagger to 1.20 - and to think some folk bought this over 3.50 = wasn't that a truely magical time, eh?