Quarterdeck to Buy 2 Computer Firms

Quarterdeck Corp., leaping into the booming market for Internet conferencing software, said it will pay $80.1 million in stock to acquire Datastorm Technologies Inc. and Future Labs Inc.

Quarterdeck said it issued 5.2 million shares to acquire Datastorm and plans to issue an additional 750,000 shares for Future Labs. With Quarterdeck shares trading up 61 cents at $13.625 before they were halted because of the announcement, the values of the transactions were put at $70.9 million and $10.2 million, respectively.

Trading on Nasdaq did not resume Thursday. Quarterdeck stock has slumped from $18.625 just since February.

The Marina del Rey-based software company, which already markets software and services geared to the Internet, said acquisition of the two privately held companies “will push Quarterdeck to the forefront of collaborative computing.”

Datastorm’s Procomm Plus communications software and Future Labs’ document-sharing products will let groups of workers using Quarterdeck’s Internet software collaborate on projects without traveling from far-flung locales.

Separately, Quarterdeck said it completed a private sale of $25 million in 6% convertible notes due in 2001, with proceeds earmarked for acquisitions and other purposes.

“The combination of Datastorm’s communication technology with our advanced Internet solutions will give us a unique position in the collaborative computing environment,” said Gaston Bastiaens, Quarterdeck’s chief executive.

Privately held Datastorm, which had revenue of $39 million in 1995 with a 20% profit margin, will maintain its headquarters in Columbia, Mo., the companies said.

Future Labs’ 22 workers will continue to work in the Northern California town of Los Altos. The deal is expected to close in April.