Acquisitive Network Associates Inc has acquired automated help desk software company Magic Solutions Inc and its estimated 5,000 customers for $110m in cash. Network Associates says the purchase combines the number two and number three vendors in the help desk space to create a new leader in the Windows NT environment, with the largest installed base of anyone in the market. The purchase also triples the size of NAI’s consulting business and doubles its sales headcount – which it says has been a restraint on its revenues lately. The combined help desk business will be headed by Zach Nelson, currently general manager of NAI’s Service Desk Unit. Nelson feels his team is now well ahead of nearest NT competitor Remedy Corp. The deal creates a two-horse race and the other horse is looking pretty tired, Nelson said of Remedy. The acquisition, expected to close early in the second quarter, will be accounted for as a purchase and will bring a charge of around $90m. The second quarter will also see the charge from last month’s $300m acquisition of Trusted Information Systems Inc in a stock swap (CI No 3,354). The combined charges should amount to roughly $180m-$190m. NAI says its current quarter will be charge free and that it is comfortable with Wall Street expectations of $0.54 per share. The transaction is expected to be non-dilutive. NAI says the acquisition comes as part of its plan to become either the number one or two player in every market that it’s in.
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