Francisco buys Aconex stake

US financier Francisco Partners has bought a $107 million stake in Australian software developer Aconex, in one of the richest private equity deals sealed in Australia this year, states Sky News.

The investment gives Francisco a minority stake in the company and adds to its portfolio of Australian investments, after its purchase of Queensland's Mincom for $315 million last year.

Aconex, which provides hosted construction and engineering project management systems over the Internet, is believed to be valued at between $215 million and $300 million.

Exact Software has acquired InterConnect solution from Interactive Technology, which allows organisations to have a single interface for critical operations in their business, says TMCnet.

The acquisition of InterConnect technology will allow Middleton-based Exact to unify its Exact Synergy product with existing Exact ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems.

Exact Synergy is a Web-based collaboration platform that unifies people, processes and knowledge to customers' business allowing them to manage their projects, resources, installation schedules, and entire supple chain.

GE Oil & Gas' PII Pipeline Solutions division has signed an agreement with SEICO, a wholly owned subsidiary of Marcos y Asociados, a consulting firm specialising in the Mexican energy industry, reports PRdomain.

Under the agreement, SEICO and PII will jointly serve the Mexican pipeline integrity and inspection market.

SEICO will provide project management, logistics, and inspection crews, while PII will provide state of the art technology, inline inspection equipment and engineering analysis from its global headquarters in Houston.