The Sage Group has agreed to buy ACCPAC International from Computer Associates International (CA) for $110 million.
The sale of CA's 90% stake in ACCPAC is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to be resolved by the end of February.
The acquisition comes after Sage acquired local accounting software company, Softline, late last year. Sage said the Softline acquisition gave it a strong market position and leading product brands, as well as access to North American clients and a sizeable customer and reseller base in the Southern Hemisphere.
CA chairman and CEO Sanjay Kumar said in a statement released on 23 December to announce the ACCPAC deal, that the sale forms part of CA's efforts to exit the business applications market and focus on the company's management software portfolio.
"CA has committed itself to addressing the enterprise management challenges in our core management software markets. The sale of ACCPAC to Sage supports that focus, while providing opportunities for ACCPAC employees and transitioning customers to a company that is ideally positioned to care for them."
Paul Walker, Sage CEO, said this acquisition would establish Sage as a market-leader in Canada and strengthen Sage's position in the important US market for small to medium enterprises.
"Acquiring ACCPAC has not only strengthened our North American market position by establishing a position in Canada, but has added to our product offering in the Southern Hemisphere."
Walker added that ACCPAC will add value to Sage's existing businesses by strengthening its competitive positions, while Sage's customer service and marketing expertise will enable it to sell more software and services to ACCPAC's customer base.
ACCPAC also has businesses in Australia and SA, which Sage says will complement its existing operations. Industry insiders will likely question what Sage plans to do now that it has ACCPAC and Softline in its stable, as well as how it will run the two companies which compete in the same markets in the Southern Hemisphere and North America.
ACCPAC's local office did not return ITWeb's calls asking for comment. ITWeb is still attempting to make contact with Sage's head office in Britain.
ACCPAC is a vendor of a suite of business management solutions, including accounting and customer relationship management software for small and medium enterprises, with business in the US, Canada, SA, Australia and Singapore.
Softline's portfolio includes Pastel, Brilliant and VIP software.
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