AEA Technology Plc, the international science and engineering company based in Oxfordshire in the UK, has acquired process simulation software house Hyprotech Ltd, Calgary, Alberta, for 34m pounds ($54m). Hyprotech’s products are used in oil refineries and chemical process plants. AEA, which says it sees engineering software as a significant growth opportunity, also acquired Canadian Advanced Scientific Computing Ltd back in February for 6.7m pounds, getting the company into the supply of engineering software for the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. AEA is an offshoot from the UK’s public sector Atomic Engineering Authority which transformed itself into a private company last year and promptly got listed on the London Stock Exchange. The company made a 24.1m-pound operating profit on revenue of 254.1m pounds last year.
