Dublin-based Similarity Systems, a provider of data quality tools, has been acquired by the California software maker Informatica in a deal valued at close to US$55m.
The Irish software developer is privately held and the deal, which was approved by the board of directors of both companies, was in the form of a cash transaction. Informatica said the acquisition would begin contributing to its earnings by the start of the fourth quarter this year.
Informatica, which is headquartered in California, said it would incorporate Similarity Systems’s patented technology into its PowerCenter data integration product suite. Version 8 of this software will be released in April.
According to forecasts from industry analysts, the worldwide market for information quality solutions will grow by 12pc per year to $1bn by 2008. This growth will be driven in part by the fact that data quality tools can support business requirements such as regulatory compliance.
Sohaib Abbasi, chairman and CEO of Informatica, said that data quality was one of its customers’ top challenges within data integration projects. “Combining the innovative technology from Similarity Systems with PowerCenter, we will offer distinctive total data quality management to our customers as an integral part of the Informatica enterprise data integration platform.,” he said in a statement.
Garry Moroney, CEO of Similarity Systems added: “The combination of our products will create a comprehensive, unified data integration offering that empowers the right people in the organisation to deal with data quality while delivering the broadest range of data integration projects for our global customers.”
Similarity Systems was founded in 2001. In addition to its Dublin HQ it has development and support offices in Austin, Texas, New York, Munich and Birmingham. Last February the company closed a funding round of US$7m to support its expansion into the US and in July it acquired the Texas firm Evoke Software, a developer of data discovery and profiling tools.
By Gordon Smith
