Very noticeable this quarter, the various strategic acquisitions by Wolters Kluwer and the acquisitions of Privat Equity fund Apax and INFOR.

Acquisitions Wolters Kluwer

No less than four notable acquisitions (NRAI, Twinfield, Toppower, Lexi-comp) this quarter by Wolters Kluwer. Remarkable deals because of the intended position Wolters Kluwer aspires to get internationally and also in the Netherlands. The former editor of paper editions has become a solid competitor for Afas, UNIT 4, Visma / Accountview and Exact.

Through the software, Wolters Kluwer supplies professionals through preferably subscription-based with online technical information and education (e-learning). The software of Wolters Kluwer relates in particular to accountants, auditors, lawyers and medical specialist.

ERP market on the move

Germany has a major ERP software vendor called SAP, which only in the mid-size market and the SMB segment is vulnerable but otherwise absolutely dominant and has ruled in the German market. Yet, certainly not all customers are satisfied which might be a reason that further international acquisitions can be expected? Eg. Sage? What is SAP going to do? Oracle and Microsoft always remain busy. Who's next?

There are still plenty of local players in the German mid market segment, but they should not wait too long to join forces or cooperate with an international software firm such as for example UNIT 4 to give SAP enough the competition they deserve in the market. Consolidation in Germany is certainly not over yet. There is still plenty of room in the market.

Remarkable mega deals this quarter were realized by acquisitions from Apax and INFOR.

INFOR has reinforced itself with Lawson and thus confirmed once again that they are an above average player in the market. Five years ago, they were also big news when announcing the acquisition of SSA Global. Especially the cloud services to Lawson will add value to the current service portfolio of INFOR.

The other mega-deal concerns the acquisition of Epicor and Activant by private equity firm Apax Partners. Apax will merge the two companies into one company under the banner of Epicor Software Corporation.

Remarkable further:

• Mega Deal: Microsoft buys Skype. It's the biggest acquisition of the software giant in its existence.
• Cap Gemini buys Artesys and Avantias. In the past, Cap has had a strong focus on software development and implementation and left too much know-how to others in the area of integration and infrastructure development such as cloud computing, which is now very HOT. In addition, Cap also is in negotiations with French IT services provider Prosody.
• Base Farm buys blue dome. Building a strategic position in hosting with inexpensive green power from Scandinavia.
• Software AG buys mobile appmaker. Software AG now also in mobile applications!
• Polycom buys HP telepresence: Software for telepresence is HOT, see announcement Skype
• Ericsson buys TeleCordia. Strategic investment in Ericsson OSS and OBS
• Google buys Admeld. Important to Google and the industry
• Symantec buys Clearwell. Strategic acquisition in the Symantec E-Discovery Market