German e-commerce software developer Brokat Infosystems AG is merging with a smaller competitor, MeTechnology Europe GmbH. The two companies announced an initial agreement to work together, leading to a full merger later this year.
Both Stuttgart-based Brokat and MeTechnology, from Leipzig, were at pains to explain that this was a pooling of interests, and therefore a merger rather than an acquisition. However, an insider said the deal represented a good opportunity of taking out a competitor for the larger Brokat, whose main offering is its Twister platform.
MeTechnology’s Me/4 platform is aimed primarily at the banking sector, with a customer list that includes Dresdner Bank AG, Commerzbank AG, Sparda Datenverarbeitung eG, DG Bank and the Sachsen-Landsbank. The two will now work to converge their technologies.
In addition, said the insider, MeTechnology may receive specific sales missions to complement those of Brokat, which is now increasingly moving into the telecoms market. MeTechnology had revenues of around $5m last year, compared to $13m for the year to June 1998 reported by Brokat.
