BMC Buys Remedy From Ailing Peregrine Systems

Systems-management software vendor Peregrine Systems Inc. said Thursday that it has completed the sale of its Remedy business unit to BMC Software Inc. for $355 million.

The Remedy unit makes Action Request System help-desk software and should produce about $250 million in revenue from 6,000 licenses. BMC says it will operate the unit as a separate organization within the company.

The sale comes as Peregrine struggles to repay debts as part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. The company filed for Chapter 11 protection in late September, blaming its woes in part on auditor Arthur Andersen. Peregrine has also filed suit against the besieged accounting firm and is seeking $1 billion in damages.

Considering that Peregrine paid $1.1 billion in stock and cash to acquire Remedy just 17 months ago, BMC got a great deal, Forrester Research analyst Laura Koetzle says. Remedy "really does have a lot of loyal customers and a solid platform."