Platinum Technology
Encyclopedia
Platinum Technology Inc. was founded by Andrew Filipowski
in 1987 to market and support deployment of database
management software products and the applications enabled by database management technology and render related services. Over its 12 year history, it was known for its acquisition of other companies, having bought more than 50 companies between 1994 and 1999 and growing to become the eighth largest global software company with revenue of a billion dollars per year. Acquisitions included Altai (1995), AutoSystems Corporation, Brownstone Solutions, ICON Computing
, Intervista Software, Locus Computing Corporation
, Logic Works
, Protosoft, RELTECH Group, Memco Software, Softool, SQL TOOLS, Inc., Trinzic and Viatech. The company was a member of the UML Partners
consortium.
(DOJ), alleging that the two companies prematurely reduced competition between each other. The DOJ claimed that this was achieved by agreeing to limit discounts offered to customers before the deal was completed.
and reverse engineering
tools.
With this merger; Platinum was hoping to become a major security software provider in areas such as access control, single sign-on, user and database security administration, authentication, intrusion detection, secure communications, and policy audit.
Memco Software was founded in 1990 in Tel Aviv
, Israel; in 1996 it had an initial public offering
on NASDAQ, raising $50 million. Following the acquisition of Platinum by Computer Associates, Memco Software became the basis for CA’s research and development center in Israel
.
Andrew Filipowski
Andrew J. "Flip" Filipowski is a Polish American technology entrepreneur born in 1950 in Chicago, IL. He is currently the Executive Chairman and CEO of SilkRoad Equity, a private investment firm, and founded Platinum Technology in 1985...
in 1987 to market and support deployment of database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
management software products and the applications enabled by database management technology and render related services. Over its 12 year history, it was known for its acquisition of other companies, having bought more than 50 companies between 1994 and 1999 and growing to become the eighth largest global software company with revenue of a billion dollars per year. Acquisitions included Altai (1995), AutoSystems Corporation, Brownstone Solutions, ICON Computing
ICON Computing
ICON Computing was a 1990s software service company specializing in object technology, and was part of the UML Partners consortium. They were acquired by Platinum Technology in 1998....
, Intervista Software, Locus Computing Corporation
Locus Computing Corporation
Locus Computing Corporation was formed in 1982 by Gerald J. Popekto commercialize the technologies developed for the LOCUS distributed operating system at UCLA...
, Logic Works
Logic Works
Logic Works Inc. was a software company based in Princeton, New Jersey. Their flagship product was an IDEF1X modeling and database design toolcalled ERwin whose name is formed from an initialism of ER for Entity Relationship and "win", short for windows...
, Protosoft, RELTECH Group, Memco Software, Softool, SQL TOOLS, Inc., Trinzic and Viatech. The company was a member of the UML Partners
UML Partners
UML Partners was a consortium of system integrators and vendors convened in 1996 to specify the Unified Modeling Language . Initially the consortium was led by Grady Booch, Ivar Jacobson, and James Rumbaugh of Rational Software...
consortium.
Acquisition by Computer Associates
In May 1999, Platinum was itself acquired by Computer Associates (CA) for 3.5 billion U.S. dollars, at that time the largest transaction in the history of the software industry. CA offered $29.25 per share, almost a three-to-one premium over Platinum's stock price of $9.875.Transition
In 2001, CA was sued by the United States Department of JusticeUnited States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
(DOJ), alleging that the two companies prematurely reduced competition between each other. The DOJ claimed that this was achieved by agreeing to limit discounts offered to customers before the deal was completed.
Protosoft
In November 1995, Protosoft was acquired by Platinum Technology for 40 million U.S. dollars. Protosoft was founded by Dr. Anthony Lekkos and Erick Rivas in 1990 to develop and market Paradigm Plus, an object-oriented analysis and design (OOAD) modeling product and associated code generationAutomatic programming
In computer science, the term automatic programming identifies a type of computer programming in which some mechanism generates a computer program to allow human programmers to write the code at a higher abstraction level....
and reverse engineering
Reverse engineering
Reverse engineering is the process of discovering the technological principles of a device, object, or system through analysis of its structure, function, and operation...
tools.
Memco Software
In September 1998, Platinum Technology acquired Israeli company Memco Software (Nasdaq: MEMCF). The acquisition was accounted for as a stock-for-stock pooling of interests valued at just more than $400 million. The combined offering of both companies was aimed at providing a complete software security solution for protecting enterprise networks, databases, and systems across multiple platforms.With this merger; Platinum was hoping to become a major security software provider in areas such as access control, single sign-on, user and database security administration, authentication, intrusion detection, secure communications, and policy audit.
Memco Software was founded in 1990 in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, Israel; in 1996 it had an initial public offering
Initial public offering
An initial public offering or stock market launch, is the first sale of stock by a private company to the public. It can be used by either small or large companies to raise expansion capital and become publicly traded enterprises...
on NASDAQ, raising $50 million. Following the acquisition of Platinum by Computer Associates, Memco Software became the basis for CA’s research and development center in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.