K3 bolts on South Coast rival
K3 Business Technology, the Salford Quays-based supplier of business planning software, has bought Southampton-based competitor Clarita Solutions in a deal worth just over £1m.
K3 is paying £820,000 in cash on completion of the deal and is also taking on responsibility for debts worth up to £230,000.
Clarita is a reseller of Microsoft Dynamics NAV software to retailers and distributors.
It has a customer base of around 70 clients who generated sales of £3.1m in 2010 and underlying profits of £250,000.
K3 said that Clarita is a “bolt-on” addition to its own business, and was also a distributor of its own Pebblestone software to fashion retailers.
Chief executive Andy Makeham said: “Clarita is a well-established NAV reseller in the UK focused on the same market sectors as K3. It therefore represents a highly complementary acquisition, which we can readily integrate into our existing operations.
“Its addition brings us £1 million of recurring revenues and another 70 customers to whom we can offer further software services and solutions, including hosting.”
Barclays Corporate’s Manchester office provided funding for the deal.
