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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, DC 20549
FORM 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN ISSUER
PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the month of February 16, 1999
Micro Focus Group Public Limited Company
(Translation of Registrant's Name Into English)
The Lawn, Old Bath Road, Newbury, England RG14 1QN
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file
annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.)
Form 20-F X Form 40-F _____
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(Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the
information contained in this form is also thereby furnishing the information to
the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of
1934.)
Yes X No _____
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(If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the
registrant in connection with Rule 12g3-2 (b): 82-795.)
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MERANT Emerges as New Force in Enterprise Application Development
Micro Focus Group and subsidiary INTERSOLV Unveil New Corporate Name and
Strategic Direction
NEWBURY, England and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- Feb. 16, 1999 -- To reflect the
company's strategic expansion and leadership in the Enterprise Application
Development market, Micro Focus Group plc announced that, effective today, it
will begin operating under a new name, MERANT plc (London Stock Exchange: MRN;
NASDAQ: MRNT). Combining the strengths of its predecessors, industry leaders
Micro Focus and INTERSOLV, the introduction of MERANT signals a focused
strategic direction for the company's technology and services organization -- to
accelerate customers' business advantage through the application of innovative
information technology.
With more than 20 years of industry experience, industry-leading products and
proven implementation, consulting and training processes, MERANT is dedicated to
helping organizations seamlessly use information technology to deliver
competitive advantage in the rapidly evolving electronic economy. MERANT is a
market-leader with innovative technology in three key areas of Enterprise
Application Development: creating and transforming enterprise applications;
application development management; and enterprise data connectivity.
"The competitive battleground has shifted squarely to IT's ability to accelerate
the business through powerful enterprise applications. Whether its through
product innovation, new ways to service or reach customers, or creative methods
to link business partners, enterprise applications deliver the competitive
advantage required for market success today," said Gary Greenfield, MERANT
president and chief executive officer. "We are driven to accelerate our
customers' business advantage through the application of innovative information
technology. MERANT will continue to focus on its core markets, invest in the
people, products and processes on which our customers depend, and leverage new
technology, new standards and new processes to make our customers more
successful and competitive in the future."
MERANT empowers organizations to transform enterprise applications for the
changing technology and business requirements of the e-business environment,
manage the application development process, and provide integrated data
connectivity across the enterprise, from the mainframe to the Internet. With
more than 5 million licenses at over 35,000 customer sites -- including the
entire Fortune 100 and the majority of the Global 500 -- and more than 500
consultants working closely with customers worldwide, MERANT is setting a
standard for Enterprise Application Development.
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To help customers deliver enterprise applications that accelerate their
businesses and transform their enterprise, MERANT provides one stop for
Enterprise Application Development. With industry-standard products and services
that accelerate application delivery and help to ensure success, MERANT's
solutions include:
* Application Creation and Transformation: MERANT Micro Focus(R)
helps customers develop, extend and integrate enterprise
applications. To compete in today's multi-platform enterprise
computing environment, MERANT customers leverage existing code and
skill assets to create and maintain applications, increase
functionality and integrate applications with new technologies
across multiple platforms.
* Application Development Management: MERANT PVCS(R), the industry
leader in Software Configuration Management, delivers competitive
advantage by helping customers reduce risk within the development
lifecycle and accelerate development of quality software.
* Enterprise Data Connectivity: MERANT DataDirect(R) is the
industry standard for data connectivity, helping speed delivery of
critical business information through flexible and reliable data
access middleware. Through consistent standards, MERANT ensures
enterprise-wide data integration.
* Enterprise Solutions: MERANT Consulting provides a broad spectrum
of enterprise application development services. MERANT's expertise
is distinguished by its focus on infrastructure modernization,
application transformation, enterprise application integration and
e-business development.
With these leading products and services for Enterprise Application Development,
MERANT will help corporate decision-makers better serve their customers, manage
their operations, improve their products and leapfrog their competitors by
accelerating the delivery of information technology.
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About MERANT
Founded in 1976, MERANT is a leader in Enterprise Application Development.
MERANT empowers organizations to transform their enterprise applications for the
changing technology and business requirements of the e-business environment,
manage the application development process, and provide integrated data
connectivity across the enterprise, from the mainframe to the Internet. A global
organization with nearly $400 million in annual revenues and more than 2,000
employees, MERANT serves Global 2000 companies and government organizations
worldwide. With 500 technology partners and more than 5 million licenses at over
35,000 customer sites -- including the entire Fortune 100 and the majority of
the Global 500 -- MERANT is setting a standard for Enterprise Application
Development. For additional information on MERANT and its products, visit the
MERANT web site at http://www.merant.com.
Micro Focus is a registered trademark, and MERANT is a trademark, of MERANT
International Limited. INTERSOLV, DataDirect and PVCS are registered trademarks
of MERANT Solutions Inc. All other trademarks as they appear in this
announcement are the property of their respective owners.
The following statement is made in accordance with the U.S. Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This announcement contains forward-looking
statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. There are certain
important factors that could cause results to differ materially from those
anticipated by the statements made herein. Factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially include, among others, the ability of MERANT to
develop, release and sell products and services to customers in the highly
dynamic market for enterprise application development solutions, the potential
need for enterprise application development solutions to shift based on changes
in underlying technology standards coming into use, and the effect of
competitors' efforts to enter MERANT's markets. Further information on potential
factors which could affect MERANT's results is included in the Registration
Statement on Form F-4 relating to MERANT's acquisition of INTERSOLV, MERANT's
Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended January 31, 1998 and Quarterly
Reports on Form 6-K for the quarters ended April 30, 1998, July 31, 1998 and
October 31, 1998, and INTERSOLV's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended
April 30, 1998 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended July 31,
1998, each as filed or submitted (as the case may be) with the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission, as they may be updated and amended with future filings.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Micro Focus Group Public Limited Company
(Registrant)
Date: February 16, 1999 By: /s/ Kenneth A. Sexton
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Kenneth Sexton
Chief Financial Officer
