K3, the highly acquisitive mid-market ERP player, has taken another ‘bite’ out of Sage reseller FD Systems by acquiring its Southampton-based mid-market Microsoft ERP business, Clarita Solutions, which FD itself acquired in June 2009. K3 acquired FD’s mid-market Sage 200 activities just before Xmas (see K3 acquires assets of Sage reseller).
K3 will pay an enterprise value of £1.1m for Clarita, which turned over £3.1m last year at an 8% operating margin. The valuation is broadly in line with what they paid for the Sage business, and looks a very keen price. It seems that FD wants to get out of the mid-market to concentrate on its enterprise customers (unless, I guess, K3 decides it wants those bits too!).
K3 CEO Andy Makeham told me the Clarita business will beef up his own Microsoft NAV (ex-Navision) unit. Clarita also brings with it some useful IP for handling white label fashion distribution, that Makeham will add to Pebblestone, the Netherlands-based ERP solution provider to the fashion that industry K3 acquired a year ago (see K3 dresses up Dutch style with Pebblestone). Clarita also adds another 70 customers to the K3 mix, which should provide even more fodder for K3’s fast growing hosting machine!
Looks like another shrewd deal to me.