Business Objects SA has agreed to buy Cartesis SA, a maker of finance and performance management software, for €225 million in cash, or about US$300 million, the companies announced Monday.
Cartesis’ products are used by financial managers to forecast company spending, manage budgets and consolidate figures from several divisions in a big organization. They will help Business Objects, best known for its data analytics software, to expand in the market for business performance management (BPM) software.
The announcement comes a few days after Oracle Corp. closed its acquisition of Hyperion Solutions Corp., a rival to Cartesis and Business Objects, for $3.3 billion. Other BPM vendors include Applix and Extensity.
Privately held Cartesis has about 600 employees and 1,300 customers, including Citizens Bank Corp., Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. and Siemens AG. It is based in Paris and took in about €100 million in revenue over the last year, Business Objects said.
Business Objects, based in Paris and San Jose, California, expects to close the transaction in about 90 days, subject to the approval of regulators and Cartesis shareholders, it said.
Didier Benchimol, Cartesis’ CEO, will join Business Objects to help integrate the two companies. Cartesis will become part of Business Objects’ Enterprise Performance Management group.
Business Objects is due to announce its financial results for the first quarter on Wednesday.
