Four Soft set for second innings

To foray into ecommerce via Deals15 acquisition; Targets Hollywood with eShoot software in 2 years

Hyderabad-based Four Soft Limited (rechristened as Palred Technologies Limited), which sold its transportation and logistics software solutions business to Transport IT Solutions Private Limited, a part of UK-based Kewill Group, in August this year, has devised a new business structure to start its second innings.

Of the Rs 300 crore cash it received through the slump sale, including the real estate at Hitec City, the company has cleared a loan of Rs 20 crore and paid Rs 60 crore towards taxes. After returning a majority of the remaining to the shareholders in the form of interim dividend and capital reduction scheme, it has retained roughly Rs 25 crore.

“Though a publicly-listed company but with no business, we are actually in a start-up mode now. We are looking at leveraging the existing investor support and residual assets like frameworks and technologies for future scalability,” Palem Srikanth Reddy, chairman of Palred Technologies, said.

Still backed by key investors like Kotak PE and ChrysCap founder Ashish Dhawan, Palred is planning to tread the inorganic path to bring new businesses on board. Towards this, it is in the process of acquiring city-based Premium Web Services Private Limited’s computer peripherals and mobile accessories retailing portal —www.deals15.com — to enter the ecommerce space. Floated in 2012, Deals15 has a turnover of Rs 1 crore.

“While a third-party due diligence is being carried out, we have already started operational integration of Deals15. The ‘performance-based payout’ deal should be closed by the end of January 2014,” Reddy said.

Though their immediate focus was on ecommerce, he said the company was also looking at entering media and entertainment and high-end IT services verticals, which involved long-term investments.

It has so far invested around Rs 60 lakh in developing eShoot, a script-to-post-production software with built-in project management capabilities aimed at the media and entertainment industry. “About 60 per cent of the single-stack product is ready. We have to add financial, master data, post-production and multi-tenancy modules. The first version of eShoot will go into the market outside of India, specifically targeting Hollywood, in two years,” Reddy said, adding the company was still exploring the possibilities of entering the mobile apps business.