Open Text acquiring Ixos as content management mergers continue

Computerworld - The content management marketplace is abuzz with the merger of two key players for the second week in a row with today's announcement that Open Text Corp. is planning to acquire Ixos Software AG.
Open Text said it will pay about $250 million for Ixos stock. The acquisition, if approved by shareholders and others, is expected to be completed within four months.
Last week, storage vendor EMC Corp. acquired content management vendor Documentum Inc. in a $1.7 billion deal that brought together two complementary partners (see story).
The Ixos deal is the second acquisition for Open Text since August, when the Waterloo, Ontario-based company announced the acquisition of German Web content management software vendor Gauss Interprise AG (see story). On the same day, competitor Stellent Inc. bought digital asset management software vendor Ancept Inc. in Minneapolis.
Open Text, which specializes in knowledge management and document collaboration for users, said it will gain Ixos' groupware integration, data-centric applications, transaction support and ERP expertise.
Matt Suffoletto, president and CEO of Ixos Software Inc., the company's division in the U.S., Canada and Latin America, said the merger will bring size, scalability, financial confidence and complementary product lines for customers. More and more large corporate customers are looking to buy packages of technology from larger, more established companies rather than making piecemeal purchases from smaller vendors, he said.
"With that comes confidence, which plays into even more [buying] decisions being made," Suffoletto said. "What we have is a blend, a marriage of leaders in document management and collaboration."
Open Text had about 1,200 employees and revenue of $178 million in the last fiscal year, while Ixos had about 900 workers and revenue of about $145 million in the last fiscal year.
Anik Ganguly, vice president of products at Open Text, said staffing will be reviewed after the merger, but that since there is little overlap between the markets of the two companies, few jobs are expected to be affected.
After the merger, Open Text is expected to reorganize into two divisions, with a North American division that will have global responsibility for collaboration and knowledge management products. The European-based division in Munich will have global responsibility for content management and archiving. The Ixos name will remain as a division of Open Text. Gauss Interprise will also be part of the European content management division.
Ixos CEO Robert Hoog will become head of the European organization at Open Text.

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