Consolidation in the software testing market has been rife over recent months, and now automatic test equipment firm Teradyne Inc, Boston, Massachusetts, is adding fuel to the fire with the acquisition of Softbridge Inc. Softbridge, based nearby in Cambridge, will continue to trade under its own name and will retain it management team, concentrating on expanding its hold in client-server applications testing. Boston, Massachusetts-based Teradyne announced plans last summer to axe some 300 jobs following a market slump (CI No 2,988), and says it will be looking to expand its position in the testing market. Software testing companies have recently been scrambling for positions in the Web testing arena, in which Softbridge has an 8.2% share, behind rivals SQA Inc – now merged with Rational Software Inc – with 12.2%. Teradyne is a $1.2bn company with some 5,000 employees. No financial details.
