Infor:Swan to be acquired by US group, Agilisys

Agilisys, the Atlanta US-based enterprise software firm specialising in the food, process and automotive sectors, is to acquire German infor Business Solutions, and thus the UK’s infor:Swan. The agreed deal, which was announced late on Friday, will roughly double the size of each, resulting in a company with 1,300 employees, combined revenues of $200m and some 6,500 installations. Doug Miles, marketing director at infor:Swan in Gloucester – itself bought by infor almost three years ago, says that in the German mid market the new organisation will now rank number two behind SAP. And he adds: “It will vastly improve our international coverage.” It will also extend the firm’s industry sector coverage. Agilysis is strong in the general process sectors, the food industry and, since its acquisition around nine months ago of German Brain ERP software company, also automotive suppliers. Says Jim Schaper, chairman and CEO of Agilisys: “The acquisition propels us into a leadership position for mid-market EPR solutions in Europe and is an important step in fulfilling our goal of becoming the leading global provider of ERP and SCM solutions for the manufacturing markets we serve.” “Through this acquisition our customers realise long term protection of their investment and can, through the access to Agilisys’ global infrastructure and world-wide resource, increase their competitiveness in international business,” says Professor Hertel, chairman and CEO of infor. Infor adds a wide spread of discrete industries, as well as its specialised offerings for sectors like plastics. Infor also brings modern technology to the party, particularly for the Brain side, where automotive users in particular will find themselves with better support all round. As for the deal, Agilisys is offering eur4.25 per share to infor shareholders, with unanimous backing from the ijnfor board, and currently awaits shareholder ratification.