When it filed for a $200m IPO in June, SSA said it was about to close two more acquisitions, and the purchase of Marcam follows a deal earlier this month to buy Arzoon Inc, a San Mateo, California-based company that offers a suite of logistics and global trade management software.
SSA said the acquisition would boost its expertise in the food, beverage, pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Marcam claims more than 1,000 installations of its ERP system, and SSA said its product convergence strategy will provide a way forward for its customers who will be given a commitment of support for existing versions of its software.
Invensys bought Newton, Massachusetts-based Marcam for $60m in 1999 as part of a strategy to offer software that would do everything from running production lines to offering information to the boardroom. However, the purchase was quickly overshadowed by Invensys’ acquisition of Baan the following year, and neither company prospered under its new owner.
The question is why, after selling Baan to SSA for $135m in June last year, it waited another year before unloading the Marcam operation.
While Oracle Corp is currently involved in a regulatory battle to pursue its takeover of PeopleSoft, SSA’s latest move demonstrates continued activity by smaller vendors as they look to exploit vertical markets that major companies have found it difficult to penetrate.
