WebMethods to Acquire Active Software

Webmethods, a business-to-business trading exchange application integration specialist, has annonced that it will acquire EAI (enterprise application integration) player Active Software in a $1.3 billion deal expected to close during the third quarter of this year.

The value of the transaction is based upon the closing price of webMethods' stock on Friday, May 19.

The combination of webMethods' external integration offerings and Active Software's internal focus will provide users with a single, comprehensive application integration path, said Phillip Merrick, president and CEO of webMethods. "[The acquisition] was driven in large part by customers," Merrick said. Both vendors have FedEx, Juniper Networks, Hewlett-Packard, and Avnet as customers.

"[While] there does exist a productised integration that can be delivered now," webMethods and Active Software will be tightening the integration, although a specific time frame is not available, Merrick said.

The higher performance integration to come will yield adapters that clarify internal and external security issues, determine access within an enterprise, and define business processes, said Jim Green, chairman and CEO of Active Software.

One of the clear targets of the acquisition is Vitria Technology, in California, which competes against both players with its EAI and workflow offering, Merrick said.

The California offices of Active Software will serve as the West Coast center for webMethods. Merrick said he will remain as CEO, president, and chairman of board while Green takes on the role of CTO and executive vice president of product development, and will join the webMethods board of directors. Together, the two companies will have almost 600 employees worldwide.

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More about Active SoftwareFedExHewlett-Packard AustraliaJuniper NetworksTech Data Technology SolutionsVitriaVitria TechnologyWebMethods Australia

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