The all cash purchase valued at $21 per share brings the IT management and governance solution company into the Computer Associates fold.
CA’s purchase price will total at about $350 million USD, as it acquires Redwood City, CA-based Niku.
CA plans to integrate Niku’s Clarity product with its existing Unicenter offering. The acquisition should help CA continue to expand its reach into the business service optimization field.
Niku’s revenue grew 45 percent in its last fiscal year. IT governance issues, driven by the ominous specter of Sarbanes-Oxley legislation, have made the market segment faster growing than the rest of the software industry.
Said CA President and CEO John Swainson: “IT governance is the number one priority for CIOs as they demand that their IT investments contribute to the growth, productivity and profitability of their organizations.”
“Our combined company will be able to provide global customers with a one-stop source for an integrated suite of solutions – including strategic planning, project and portfolio management, service management, service delivery, change management and IT financial management,” said Niku President and CEO Joshua Pickus.
Mr. Pickus will join CA’s management team as senior vice president of Business Service Optimization. It is anticipated that the vast majority of Niku’s approximately 290 employees will remain with CA after the completion of the transaction.
CA has been a reseller of Niku’s Clarity since January of this year. Clarity is an integrated suite spanning the IT life cycle, from how IT invests its budget to how those investments made an impact on the business.
For example, equipping IT staff with laptop computers and remote access to systems is an expense. But if that investment proceeds to be utilized to minimize system downtime and respond faster to user issues, that utilization is a gain, and Clarity can assess it on those merits.
David Utter is a staff writer for murdok covering technology and business. Email him here.
