Thursday, December 15, 2011

Emptoris agrees to be bought by IBM

By Rodney H. Brown

After toying with the idea of an IPO for years, contract management software maker Emptoris Inc. has opted for a different exit, agreeing today to be acquired by IBM Corp. for an undisclosed amount.

Burlington-based Emptoris will become part of IBM’s Smarter Commerce offerings, according to a release from the Armonk, N.Y.-based technology and services giant. Emptoris’ spend management solutions will “complement the existing B2B integration and supply chain management capabilities IBM acquired through the purchase of Sterling Commerce in 2010,” the release stated.

The purchase is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2012, officials said in the release, assuming all customary closing conditions and regulatory reviews are met.

Emptoris was on an upswing, fighting back from legal troubles with patent issues dating back to 2007 that nearly bankrupted the company. In December 2008, after putting in at least $43 million in venture capital, Emptoris’ investors sold the company at auction to El Segundo, Calif., private equity firm Marlin Equity Partners, for undisclosed terms. As part of the purchase, Emptoris was recapitalized to the tune of $20 million more, bringing the total invested in the company to $63 million.

Since then, Emptoris has done some acquiring of its own, buying Rivermine Inc. of Fairfax, Va., a telecom expense management company, for an undisclosed amount.  As recently as May 2011, Emptoris was touting its purchase of a German company, Xcitec, also for an undisclosed amount. Adding the revenue from Xcitec, the company said it would have a combined $100 million in revenue, and officials were talking up plans for a 2011 IPO.

Emptoris, founded in 1999, has more than 725 employees globally, with offices in the U.S., U.K., France, Germany, Australia, India, Brazil and China. The company lists more than 350 customers in 75 countries.