Idox has acquired French engineering document control software company, Artesys, for a cash consideration of £2m (€2.4m). The acquisition will be funded from cash and existing debt facilities and will be immediately earnings enhancing. Artesys will be integrated into Idox's Engineering Information Management division, extending both capability and geographical coverage.
Artesys provides engineering document control solutions and applications supporting the efficient and safe operation of processing plants. It claims its technology is used by over 8,000 engineering and maintenance professionals to locate validated plant documents and data. The company has a geographical focus around France and Africa and operates predominantly in the oil and gas sector. For the year to end March 2013, Artesys is expected to achieve revenues of €2.9m and an operating profit of €400k.
Idox completed five acquisitions in its last financial year (for example, see Idox acquires facilities management software provider) as part of its strategy to diversify away from a reliance on UK local government. While we have previously expressed that Idox should be wary of stretching itself too far (either into sectors that are unfamiliar, or new geographies), it produced a good set of results in its latest financial year (see IDOX docks a more balanced year). Furthermore, we wouldn't be surprised if we're writing about yet another acquisition at some point in the future.