SiliconBeat

Selectica has a new major investor that put the San Jose developer of contract-management software on notice Thursday that it will likely be hearing more from it in the near future.

Trilogy of Austin, Texas, through its principal business Versata Enterprises, a provider of “enterprise software products and services”, revealed Friday having acquired a 5.1 percent stake in Selectica after spending $1.41 million to acquire 1.44 million shares, paying an average of 98 cents per share, and making it Selectica’s sixth largest shareholder.

Trilogy reported its holdings on a Form SC 13D, used when an investor plans on taking an active role to influence the future of the company in which it is investing. Among the steps Trilogy indicated it might take were:

• to attempt to “acquire more (and potentially all)” of its shares,
• or to acquire some or all of its assets,
• or it might put forth a shareholder proposal to request that Selectica “consider one or more extraordinary transactions, such as a merger”
• or it might just sell its stakes and be on its wayor some combination of the above

Selectica lost its chief executive in July who had served a little over 10 months after taking over from the previous CEO who was fired over his role in backdating options when he served as Selectica’s chief financial officer. Since then Selectica’s board has been “conducting an extensive review” of the company’s business.

Shares of selectica gained 7 cents, or about 7 percent Friday, to close at $1.03.