THE owners of the Pharmacy4Less group are set to end up with a significant minority stake in listed pharmacy software provider Corum Group, under an agreement announced last night (PD breaking news) relating to the creation of a cloud-based pharmacy head office management platform.
The "technology co-development" deal has been sealed with BAMM Group Administration Pty Ltd, one of the companies controlled by Feras Karem (pictured) and his brother Assad, who also head up Pharmacy4Less.
Corum said the agreement would build on the know-how developed around its popular RPM Head Office application to create its first major SaaS (Software as a Service) platform, to be marketed as Corum Clear Head Office.
"The platform utilises standardised integration APIs to create an open software environment to encourage partnering opportunities...the flexibility of the cloud-based solution will enable Corum to service both enterprise level organisations and smaller groups cost-effectively," Corum noted.
The company will issue 63.6 million shares to BAMM Group, in two equal tranches, upon completion of agreed milestones.
BAMM manages a "number of significant pharmacy groups across Australia," the company said, with the project to focus on the development of software solutions for multi-store management and in-store retail operations.
The issue equates to around a quarter of Corum's current share capital, and is worth about $2.3m at yesterday's price of 3.6c per share.
Corum Clear Head Office will be released in two stages next year, the company confirmed, and the intellectual property will be wholly owned by Corum.
As well as the share placement, Corum has also granted a contractual right to BAMM to participate in future placements.
Corum will contribute financially to software development costs and provide design and development expertise for the project.
The ASX-listed company has also agreed to identify and appoint an additional director.
The pact is subject to shareholder approval, which will be sought at the upcoming Corum Annual General Meeting, with major shareholder Lujeta Pty Ltd confirming it intends to vote in support of the deal.
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