French communications software house BVRP Software has acquired British distributor Kommunicate, as well as the OEM operations of Swedish competitor Trio. Both acquisitions are in line with BVRP’s strategic objective to consolidate its European market leadership in the software for modems and FAX/modems in personal computers. The company said its market share in Europe was 40% prior to buying Trio’s OEM business, which was its main competitor in this segment. BVRP said the acquisition will also enable it to expand its sales into Asia, where Trio has a significant market presence. The Trio buy relates exclusively to the Swedish company’s technology and customer base. The deal involves a payment of $880,000 at the time of acquisition. There is also a sliding scale of incremental compensation payable in BVRP share subscription warrants and cash payments based on sales generated over the next 12 months, with a ceiling of $1.2m for sales of over $2.6m to the acquired the Trio customers. The Kommunicate acquisition, which represents a significant increase in the French company’s UK market presence, is to cost BVRP $6.2m.
