Best
Software Completes Acquisition of ACCPAC
Irvine, Calif. (March 09, 2004) - Best Software,
Inc., today announced that its UK-based parent company, The Sage Group
plc, (London: SGE:L), has completed the acquisition of ACCPAC International,
Inc. ACCPAC is a leading accounting, CRM and Internet-hosted solutions
vendor offering a comprehensive suite of end-to-end business management
applications. Prior to the acquisition, ACCPAC was a subsidiary of Computer
Associates International, Inc., (NYSE:CA)
Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, previously announced on
December 23, 2003, the acquisition has an equity value of $110 million.
ACCPAC will contribute a $4 million cash balance, giving an enterprise
value of $106 million. The acquisition was paid for in cash.
“We are pleased to have completed the acquisition of ACCPAC as their
applications will help us better serve small and medium-sized businesses
in North America,” said Best Software CEO Ron Verni. “Specifically
for our CRM division, ACCPAC’s hosted solutions now give us a complete
offering to go with our desktop solutions and our award-winning ACT! and
SalesLogix product lines.”
ACCPAC gives Best Software a leading position in Canada and adds a global
base of approximately 540,000 customers to the combined Best/Sage customer
base. The combined companies will also significantly increase the size
of their channel network. By acquiring a hosted CRM solution, Best Software
is tapping into a significant growth area. According to Gartner's recent
Small and Medium Business CRM market report, worldwide growth of hosted
applications in the CRM software market is projected to increase during
the next five years to a 13 percent market share in 2007. Gartner’s
report also stated that Best Software leads the worldwide small business
CRM space with 25% market share ahead of Siebel, Frontrange, and Salesforce.com.
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