Informatics General: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 16:03, 5 July 2024

Revision as of 22:37, 13 August 2024

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The Equimatics Division persisted as a name within Informatics even after the company was acquired by, and subsequently became independent from, Equitable Life Assurance itself.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OXsqAQAAMAAJ&q=Informatics+Inc.+has+named+WALTER+B.+RICKEL+direc-+tor | title=uncertain | work=Software Digest | publisher=EDP News Service | volume=12 | issue=uncertain | date=1980 | page=4 }}</ref> It released related insurance products, such as GROUP-COMM, for the administration of [[group insurance]] plans.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o1xUAAAAMAAJ&q=GROUP+COMM++equimatics | title=uncertain | work=Information & Records Management | volume =16 | issue=uncertain | date=1982 | page=16 }}</ref> However over time it became instead known as the Life Insurance Systems Division.<ref name="ar-1982-reportings"/>

Around 1984, the Life Insurance Systems Division fell into difficulty and was responsible for some of Informatics' declining financial fortunes.<ref name="lat-target"/> In late 1984, the division was sold to The Continuum Company.<ref>{{cite news | url=httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-17/business/-fi-7922_1_industry7922-notesstory.html | title=Industry Notes | newspaper=Los Angeles Times | date=January 17, 1985 }}</ref>

===Legal software divisions===

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Continuing to sell the Wang-based Legal Time Management System turnkey solution,<ref>{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ULU8AQAAIAAJ&q=informatics+legal+turnkey+%22wang+vs%22 | magazine=Los Angeles Lawyer | date=1983 | page=93? | title=uncertain}}</ref>

the Phoenix division had yearly revenues on the order of $30 million by the mid-1980s.<ref name="lat-lsd">{{cite news | url=httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-04-08/business/-fi-25518_1_sterling25518-softwarestory.html | title=Sterling Sells Phoenix Unit of Informatics | newspaper=Los Angeles Times | date=April 8, 1986}}</ref> It would claim in advertisements in the ''[[ABA Journal]]'' to have 30 of the largest 100 law firms as customers and to be the top supplier of integrated legal word and data processing systems.<ref name="aba-no1">{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=18AZJOghhXUC&pg=PA2 | title=Who's the leader in law office automation? | magazine=ABA Journal | date=February 1, 1987 | pages=4–5}}</ref>

Following the Sterling Software acquisition, the Rockville operation was sold in 1987 to ATLIS. As an entity, ATLIS Legal Information Services persisted at least into the early 1990s.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TjWtllGWXF0C&pg=PA83 | title=Legal Software Directory | magazine=ABA Journal | date=April 1993 | page=SD7}}</ref> The Phoenix operation was sold several times, beginning in 1986, and also was still active into the early 1990s as owned by [[Wang Laboratories]].<ref name="wang-1992"/>

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[[Image:Informatics General corridor at night.jpg|thumb|left|260px|An Informatics staffer having a late night at the office]]

The company continued to have strong revenue growth, moving from $129 million in 1982 to $152 million in 1983 to $191 million in 1984.<ref name="lat-target">{{cite news | url=httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-04-23/business/-fi-11631_1_takeover11631-targetstory.html | title=Woodland Hills' Informatics a Takeover Target: Analysts Give Dallas Software Company's Bid a Good Chance of Succeeding | first=Daniel | last=Akst | newspaper=Los Angeles Times | date=April 23, 1985 }}</ref> Profits followed the same path for most of the time, with seven straight years of increasing earnings through 1983,<ref name="ct-somuch"/> including moving from $5.4 million and $1.49 per share in 1982 to $8.5 million and $1.67 per share in 1983.<ref name="lat-target"/> But then in 1984 earnings declined to $4.7 million and 82 cents per share, with two of Informatics' ten divisions showing an outright loss.<ref name="ct-somuch"/><ref name="lat-target"/><ref name="nyt-earnings-0285">{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/02/13/business/informatics-general-corp-reports-earnings-for-qtr-to-dec-31.html |title=Informatics General Corp reports earnings for Qtr to Dec 31 | newspaper=The New York Times | date=February 13, 1985}}</ref> The performance of Informatics stock became erratic, as exemplified by a market close in December 1983 where the ''New York Times'' wrote that Informatics General was the "big loser" of the day when its stock fell {{frac|5|5|8}} to {{frac|20|7|8}} after a poor earnings forecast was put out,<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/12/10/business/dow-declines-1.83-turnover-increases.html | title=Dow Declines 1.83; Turnover Increases | first=Alexander R. | last=Hammer | newspaper=The New York Times | date=December 10, 1983}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url= https://www.newspapers.com/image/14573563/?terms=%22informatics%2Bgeneral%22 | title=Market has small loss for week | agency=Associated Press | newspaper= The Galvestone Daily News | date= December 10, 1983 |page=23 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> or by a drop of {{frac|4|7|8}} to {{frac|15|3|8}} on a day in July 1984 when another a forecast for a break-even quarter was released.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/47536018/?terms=%22informatics%2Bgeneral%22 | title=Wall Street | first=Chet | last=Currier | agency=Associated Press | newspaper=The Gettysburg Times | date=July 19, 1984 | page=12 | via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> <!-- [[Stock buyback]]s https://www.newspapers.com/image/986794/?terms=%22informatics%2Bgeneral%22

"Markets: Stocks holding modest gain", UPI, Ukiah Daily Journal, 4 Oct 1984, page=7

Stock up 1 to 16 3/4 after company announces stock buy-back of 600K shares -->

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| magazine=Computerworld | date=May 20, 1985 | title=Informatics nixes Sterling's takeover bid | first=Kathleen | last=Burton | pages=12–13}}</ref> But Sterling also had a victory because some proposed enhanced anti-takeover measures were not approved.<ref name="ct-somuch"/> Furthermore, the fact that trading on the stock on Wall Street had become quite heavy, with some 70 percent of its issue changing hands during the battle, led to Bauer concluding that the company's shareholders actually did want to be acquired.<ref name="cw-may1985"/> Attempts by Informatics to find a [[White knight (business)|white knight]] came up empty.<ref name="ct-somuch"/> A series of other possible proposals for Informatics soon emerged, however;<ref name="frank-82"/> these included two specific offers, one from a private leverage buyout proposed by Bauer, the other from an unidentified third party.<ref name="lat-finally"/> But these were seen as inferior.<ref name="lat-finally"/>

So finally, on June 21. 1985, it was announced that Informatics board of directors had agreed to be acquired by Sterling for $27 per share, meaning $135 million in total.<ref name="lat-finally">{{cite news | url=httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-06-22/business/-fi-2225_1_sterling2225-softwarestory.html | title=Sterling Software Sweetens Offer to $135 Million: Informatics General OKs Merger | first=Daniel | last=Akst | newspaper=Los Angeles Times | date=June 22, 1985}}</ref> The acquisition was approved by Informatics shareholders in a process that ended on August 13, 1985.<ref>{{cite news | url=httphttps://articleswww.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-08-14/business/-fi-2871_1_sterling2871-softwarestory.html | title=Sterling completed its buy-out of Informatics | newspaper=Los Angeles Times | date=August 14, 1985}}</ref> At that point, as the ''Chicago Tribune'' later wrote, "the Informatics name, long a legend in software circles, was gone."<ref name="ct-somuch">{{cite news | url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1987/09/25/page/37/article/so-much-for-software-complacency | first=Christine | last=Winter | title=So much for software complacency | newspaper=Chicago Tribune | date=September 25, 1987 | pages=3–1, 3–2 }}</ref>

== Aftermath and legacy ==