Centra Software prices at $14

Centra Software Inc. (Nasdaq: CTRA), a developer of software and services that support live Internet business collaboration, priced its 5 million shares at $14 each, well above its estimated range of $8-$10 a share.

The company's products provide infrastructure for online collaboration through functions such as voice over the Internet, software application sharing, real-time data exchange, and shared workspaces.

Centra Software said it plans to use $6.5 million from the offering to pay holders of Series A and Series B preferred stock, and will use the remaining proceeds for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Revenue for the year ended Dec 31 was $8.6 million, compared to the $4.2 million last year. Net loss was $8.6 million for 1999, compared to 1998's $6.3 million.

After the offering, there will be 23.2 million shares outstanding. The underwriters, Robertson Stephens, Chase H&Q and Dain Rauscher Wessels, have been granted an option to purchase 750,000 extra shares in the event of heavy demand.

Competitors in the collaborative software field include software and services vendors such as Interwise, LearnLinc, the Lotus division of IBM (NYSE: IBM), Placeware and WebEx. Siebel (Nasdaq: SEBL) has announced that it's adding collaboration features to its enterprise software application, along with other enterprise software vendors, such as Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) and SAP (NYSE: SAP), who may compete down the road.