I see a lot of small software companies with a cool product and wonder whether they can make enough money to sustain as an independent company. Activeplant was one of those. Founder Dennis Cocco had an idea for measuring only a few key metrics in a machine or production line, analyzing them and providing the information for production improvements. Well, the company just sold to CDC Software–a company under my radar–who develops and markets a variety of enterprise software applications and services. The Activeplant product is expected to merge into CDC Factory in the Manufacturing Operations Management (MOM) space.
According to CDC, this acquisition is expected to generate new cross-selling opportunities for CDC Supply Chain in the Tier 1 automotive market, as well as expand CDC Software’s manufacturing solutions’ “already significant” footprint in the food and beverage and consumer packaged goods markets.
“We are excited to acquire this innovative developer of manufacturing intelligence solutions which is an ideal fit with our CDC Factory product line,” said Bruce Cameron, president of CDC Software. “We expect this to be an accretive acquisition and fits within our strict valuation criteria. We believe Activplant will help CDC Software take a leadership role in the packaged MOM applications market. It also expands CDC Factory’s already significant presence in the food and beverage and CPG markets, as well as help CDC Supply Chain solutions penetrate further in the Tier 1 automotive industry. With CDC Factory and Activplant’s out-of the-box MOM functionality, manufacturers do not have to spend costly consulting fees to customize the software to fit their distinct business processes,” Cameron added.
This acquisition announcement marks the latest of several strategic initiatives undertaken by CDC Software. Last quarter, CDC Software completed the acquisition of WKD Solutions Ltd., a provider of supply chain event management solutions marketed under the brand Categoric. In addition, CDC Software recently announced plans to acquire two SaaS companies as part of its SaaS rollup strategy to expand in this growing market.
