Back in the black, Platinum Software Corp has entered a definitive agreement to buy Portland, Oregon-based customer service specialist Clientele Software Inc and says it is looking towards further acquisitions. The move is Platinum’s formal entry into the Customer Information Systems market and marks what it describes as a strategic expansion of the company’s product and customer base. The acquisition is structured as a merger based on an exchange of stock, with Platinum issuing up to 1.1 million shares of common stock for all the outstanding shares and stock options of Clientele. The company said the move was the initial stage in its declared intentions to expand into the CIS market which will eventually see the integration of applications such as help desk, sales force integration and enterprise resource planning. Bill Peiser, vice president of business development and marketing commented CIS gives the highest payback for mid-market businesses and is a great area for us to get into. But why go for Clientele in particular? They’ve got an established installed base of around 1,500 and have been operating in the low to mid market supplying small business but haven’t been able exploit the higher end of the market, said Peiser. He added: we’re obviously hoping to expand revenues and expand the product line. Peiser refused to comment on specific moves but said further acquisitions would be announced over the next ten weeks.
