Borland spins off consulting

Less than six months after purchasing Open Environment in a $30 million stock swap transaction, struggling software tools maker Borland (BORL) today said it will spin off the company's consulting arm into an independent, privately held company.

The consulting division, which accounts for a small portion of Open Environment's overall revenues, will now become NetNumina, said Paul Emery, chief financial officer.

Terms of the spin-off were not disclosed and Borland does not expect to take a charge in the quarter for the transaction, Emery said.

NetNumina will continue to provide technical support, training, custom development projects, and contract workers to Borland and its customers, in addition to seeking out new customers.

The move to spin off the consulting arm was driven by the belief that NetNumina would be able to improve its pursuit of its strategic objectives as an independent company.

Open Environment, which builds three-tier client-server architectures, will continue to function as part of Borland to provide wider product distribution.

Borland, which has been posting losses amid a revenue decline, said in February it planned to cut 300 workers, or 30 percent of its workforce, as part of a restructuring program.