In a report to shareholders during a special meeting last week, Graphisoft CEO Dominic Gallello said the firm is targeting the global construction industry’s 200 largest companies directly, preferring to sell them design services as opposed to software licenses. Stock traders reacted positive to the report, sending Graphisoft shares up 4.6% Monday in trading on the Budapest Stock Exchange.
The extraordinary shareholders’ meeting was called due to unscheduled vacancies on Graphisoft’s board of directors. The meeting took place in Budapest, Hungary, Graphisoft headquarters. 59.9 percent of stockholders were in attendance.
Gallello noted that the global top 200 construction firms generate annual billings of $70 billion, while the world’s design firms generate yearly revenue of $1.4 billion.
Also announced during the meeting was a plan to separate Graphisoft's software activities from its real estate activities -- the company has property worth $25 million. As explained by Gabor Bojar, Graphisoft founder and largest shareholder, the proposal will be up for consideration during the annual shareholders’ meeting in April. Shareholders could decide on the value of the two activities at the meeting, and then vote on their separation sometime before the end of the first half of the year. Graphisoft will aim to retain the value of stock options, maintain the financing requirement of its software segment and offer investors a choice with the move.
An entire slate of directors was elected at the meeting, consisting of Gallello; Ferenc Karvalits; former CIB Bank CEO and a member of the boards of FHB and Wallis; Georg Katz, a real estate investor; Peter Zadori; who has experience purchasing IT companies; and Bojar.
--RSN (based on reports from the Hungarian News Agency)