Peoplesoft Inc is stepping up the pace in its tireless pursuit of lucrative vertical markets with yet another acquisition/partnering deal, this time in the life insurance sector. In its third such deal this year, Peoplesoft says it will acquire Trimark Technologies Inc, a supplier of software applications to the life insurance industry based in Lincolnshire, Illinois, close to Peoplesoft’s own financial services HQ in Chicago. But the price is yet to be decided upon, as the deal will not be closed until mid-way through 1999 at the earliest, thus leaving Trimark with the financial responsibility for migrating its own products to fit with Peoplesoft’s ‘Peopletools’ suite. The price paid for Trimark will depend upon conditions prevailing at the time, but a rough estimate places the deal at around $25m to $30m in stock and options. Pleasanton, California-based Peoplesoft already has around 400 clients in the insurance sector, constituting half of its entire financial services client base. And the company claims to be ahead of both Oracle Corp and SAP AG in terms of market share for ERP companies in the insurance business. But anticipating a boom in the life insurance and annuities business in the US, Peoplesoft has teamed with Trimark for the latter’s expertise in bringing new annuity and life insurance policies to market quickly, the company said. Prior to this announcement, the companies claim to have been collaborating for just two months.
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