|
||||||||
Semotus acquires database tools vendor Expand Beyond
|
||||||||
Enterprise software vendor Semotus Solutions Inc.
has acquired Expand Beyond Corp., which makes a family of products called
PocketDBA for monitoring databases remotely from a wireless device, the
companies said on Tuesday.
The
all-stock transaction was approved by both companies' boards of directors and a
majority of Expand Beyond shareholders, they said. Expand Beyond, in Chicago,
is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Semotus, in Los Gatos, California. Terms of
the deal were not disclosed.
Semotus develops software used to deliver
information wirelessly from back-end systems to devices used by employees in
the field. One of its main products, Global Market Pro, is for stock traders
and other financial workers.
Expand Beyond's PocketDBA software is for remotely
managing databases from Oracle (Profile,
Products,
Articles)
Corp., Microsoft (Profile,
Products,
Articles)
Corp. and NCR (Profile,
Products,
Articles)
Corp.'s Teradata division. It also makes PocketAdmin, for managing e-mail
servers and other systems, and a development framework called XBanywhere, for
adding Web and mobile interfaces to desktop applications.
Semotus plans to use XBanywhere to develop
additional Web-based handheld applications, the company said in the statement.
It also hopes to grow its revenue by marketing its existing products to Expand
Beyond's customers.
Semotus also gains Expand Beyond's portfolio of patents.
One of those, awarded late last year, describes "a system, method or
apparatus for the wireless monitoring and management of computer systems."
Analysts said at the time that the patent could
make Expand Beyond an attractive acquisition target. In the statement Tuesday,
Semotus described the patent as "the most comprehensive and
far-reaching" in the mobile business software industry. It did not say
whether or how it planned to enforce it and representatives were not available
to comment.
Semotus also did not say whether it would continue
to develop Expand Beyond's products, although it did say they would be
complementary to its own.
Ari Kaplan, Expand Beyond's president, has become
president of Semotus' Expand Beyond subsidiary, the companies said.
Back to Ari Kaplan's Home
Page