StarBase Plans to Buy ObjectShare

StarBase Corp., the Santa Ana-based computer network tools maker, said Thursday that it plans to round out its product line by acquiring financially troubled Irvine software maker ObjectShare Inc.

StarBase officials said they expect to pay about $7.5 million in stock--or 3.8 million to 4.8 million shares, depending on the company’s price per share when the deal closes sometime in the next four months.

The deal, which has been in the works since summer, requires shareholder approval.

“[ObjectShare] approached us and it seemed to make a lot of sense,” said Douglas Norman, vice president of finance at StarBase. “We are, essentially, a product company in need of consulting and training infrastructure. Object-Share has become that.”

ObjectShare, which employs 35 people, has been battered by internal problems, a management shake-up and an overall slump in the market. In September, the company sold its marquee software development system and transferred its related engineering, sales and support teams to Cincinnati-based Cincom Systems Inc. That deal was valued at $3 million, a figure that includes assumed debts, guaranteed royalty payments and other “additional considerations,” as well as cash.

There will be some layoffs after StarBase acquires ObjectShare, said Norman. He did not provide an exact figure. ObjectShare’s Irvine office will be closed and the staff relocated to StarBase’s 100-person headquarters in Santa Ana.

StarBase shares rose 9 cents, to $1.41 in Nasdaq Small Cap trading. ObjectShare lost 7 cents, closing at 43 cents.