Update: CA sells Accpac to Best for $110 million

Business software maker Best Software Inc. said Tuesday it has agreed to buy accounting-focused applications vendor Accpac International Inc. from its current parent, Computer Associates International Inc., for $110 million in cash. Pending regulatory approvals, the acquisition will close in February.

Best Software, a subsidiary of U.K.-based company The Sage Group Plc, sells software aimed at small and mid-size companies for handling business functions such as sales, human resources, payroll and contact management. Its products include ACT, Peachtree and SalesLogix.

Accpac’s portfolio includes applications for CRM (customer relationship management), accounting, human resources and inventory management. Accpac’s user base includes 540,000 customers, which will add to Best Software’s existing base of 1.8 million U.S. customers, the companies said.

Accpac will be maintained as a brand, and most of the company’s 600 employees are expected to join Best Software, according to Best Software Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Ron Verni.

The two companies have complementary product and geographic strengths, as well as channel networks with little overlap, he said.

“This gives us a leading position in Canada, where Best had no position,” Verni said. “We’re very excited about gaining a CRM and hosted ASP (application service provider) solution. We had been looking for something of that sort. As you can see with the success of Salesforce.com (Inc.), it’s something customers are looking for.”

Details of the merged company’s organizational structure will be worked out after regulatory approval of the deal, Verni said. Accpac CEO David Hood’s future position has not yet been determined, though Hood said he would like to remain with Best Software.

Computer Associates said the sale of Accpac is part of its plan to exit the business applications market and concentrate on management software, such as its flagship Unicenter suite.