Personal computer graphics software house Micrografx Inc has acquired AdvanEdge Technologies Inc, a privately held developer of mapping, modeling and simulation tools from Oregon, Texas, for $3.5m. The company says it intends to dominate the business process management market by the next century, and will use AdvanEdge’s Optima! 2.0 process design and simulation tool as the basis for its new pitch into process improvement systems and knowledge management tools. Micrografx has hitherto concentrated on structured diagramming tools, such as its FlowCharter family. It will keep on the existing, founding staff of six year-old AdvanEdge, and expand its current base in Portland. AdvanEdge president Kenneth Carraher becomes vice president of a newly formed Enterprise Visualization business unit, the focus for a promised further expansion into business engineering. It’s already looking for new staff skilled in C and C++, database, Internet, OLE and Windows technology. Micrografx, which reported a $2m loss for the nine months up to March 31 on revenues for the period of $17.1m, has been suffering from fierce competition from Microsoft Corp and from lower European sales. It acquired three- dimensional graphics, animation and publishing tools software house Visual Software Inc in 1996 for $11m (CI No 2,861). The transaction will be accounted for as a purchase, and the company will take time charge in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1997, as well as charges in the current fiscal quarter. Micrografx is based in Richardson, Texas.
