Borland shifts gears, won't sell developer tools group

15.11.2006
Eight months after announcing plans to sell its developer tools group, Borland Software Corp. said Tuesday it has opted to spin off the group into a wholly-owned subsidiary.

The new operation called CodeGear will manage Borland's Integrated Development Environment (IDE) products. Borland in February unveiled plans to divest its tools business, saying that move would instead allow it to focus on application lifecycle management software.

Tod Nielsen, Borland's president and CEO said in a statement that the new arrangement is in the best interest of the company's customers. He also said Borland had always wanted to find a buyer committed to the development community, someone would continue to develop its products.

Despite interest in the tools group by several serious bidders, Borland ultimately decided to create two separate operations. That will allow it and CodeGear to "obtain the necessary focus and dedicated resources to serve two important, but distinct markets."

As a subsidiary, CodeGear will have a separate brand, management team and sales and marketing strategy, Nielsen said in the statement.