Micro Focus taps Goldman Sachs to lead review after share price crash
Struggling software firm Micro Focus is said to be close to appointing advisers at Goldman Sachs as it ramps up its review into a potential sale of the business.
Read more: Micro Focus issues revenue warning and embarks on strategic review
Micro Focus, which helps to extend the life of old software businesses, could also explore a spin-off of Autonomy, which it bought in a £6.6bn reverse takeover of Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s software business in 2017, the Sunday Times reported.
The Newbury-based company last month said it would accelerate its strategic review after lowering its forecasts for full-year revenue.
The warning caused Micro Focus’s share price to fall by almost a third, and the software company dropped out of the FTSE 100 after a market reshuffle earlier this month.
The company said the weak sales had been “compounded by a deteriorating macro environment resulting in more conservatism and longer decision making cycles within our customer base”.
Micro Focus said it expected revenue to fall by between six per cent and eight per cent for the full year, compared to a previous forecast of four per cent to six per cent.
“Following the recent disappointing trading performance, we have determined that it is appropriate to accelerate the undertaking of a strategic review of the group’s operations with a view to determining where performance can be improved and how the business can be better positioned to optimise shareholder value,” chief executive Stephen Murdoch said in a statement following the trading update.
Read more: Autonomy finance chief ‘too scared’ to face analyst calls, fraud trial hears
Micro Focus and Goldman Sachs have been contacted for comment.
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