Intel announced it will pay $780m cash – or $44 a share – to acquire CTI computer telephony integration company, Dialogic. It says that the convergence of voice, data and cable provides it with an unmissable opportunity to oust incumbent equipment suppliers. Intel is adding the software interfaces and hardware expertise as fast as it can and approached Dialogic with an offer it couldn’t refuse. The combination of Intel servers and Dialogic software will enable Intel to grow its SHV server business – Dialogic is owned by John Miner’s enterprise server group – and also provides an opportunity to offer what will effectively be CTI-on-Intel silicon solutions, though neither company would comment specifically on plans.
Electronics and engineering company Invensys agreed to acquire ERP software house Marcam Solutions for $60m. Invensys says it will combine Marcam software with its own Wonderware FactorySuite and reckons the combined product will be a complete software package for the process automation market. The deal is aimed at enhancing Invensys’ self-proclaimed leadership position in the automation and controls industry. The offer, which has been unanimously approved by Marcam’s board, will be carried out through a tender offer by an unnamed subsidiary of Invensys. General Atlantic Partners, which holds about 25% of Marcam’s stock, has agreed to tender its shares, as have the officers and directors of Marcam. Marcam employs 715 people and boasts more than 1,400 customers in 40 countries worldwide.
BEA Systems announced the acquisition of Component Systems, a Silicon Valley-based consulting firm specializing in designing and developing component architectures for large- scale e- commerce applications. Financial terms were not disclosed. Component Systems’ consultants will form the nucleus of BEA’s new Component Architecture Group within its professional services organization, BEA said. The group has been set up to help customers architect new, large- scale applications using technologies such as Java, Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) and Corba. Pleasanton, California-based Component Systems, whose customers include the likes of Amazon.com, DHL Systems and Norwest Bank, helps companies develop and implement component-based applications for such things as commercial banking, on-line package shipping and tracking, on-line stock trading and other services. Components are reusable building blocks of software code that can be quickly assembled into new or modified applications, thereby reducing development time and costs.
Compuware has agreed to acquire Austin, Texas-based Reliant Data Systems, a privately-held data migration software company, on undisclosed terms. Formed in 1996, Reliant has gone through two rounds of venture funding. It launched its initial product, the Data Conversion, Loading and Extraction (DCLE) Engine, a multi- user platform-independent tool for moving, transformation and cleansing of massive amounts of data, in 1997. The product has since been renamed Reliant Bridge. Reliant’s partners include Peoplesoft, IntelliCorp, the Prestige Software International human resources division of Computer Associates International, and Oracle. Jim Treybig, founder of Tandem Computers, is chairman. Compuware says it expects to integrate Reliant’s technology into its file and data management client server product lines. The product will reduce the time and cost associated with migrating data from existing legacy applications over to new e-commerce or web-based applications and their associated relational databases, Compuware believes. Reliant, which has only 23 employees, will be moved over to Compuware’s testing and implementation lab in Farmington Hills, Michigan.
