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Marimba makes its way to BMC for $239m

Acquiring a future

In much need of a bigger home, software-maker Marimba has made its way into the hands of BMC Software in an acquisition valued at $239m.

BMC will pay $8.25 per share in cash for Marimba and expects the net purchase price of the deal to drop to $187m after including Marimba' cash balance of $53m. Marimba started off in the infamous "push technology" market but wisely transitioned into the client and server management space just ahead of the dot-com collapse. The company's products will combine with BMC's own Remedy management product line.

"Through BMC Software's strengths in enterprise management, Remedy's powerful capabilities in service desk, change management, and asset management, and Marimba's leadership across both client and server management, this acquisition positions BMC Software to offer a unique set of enterprise solutions that simplify IT operations and extend our leadership position in Business Service Management," said Bob Beauchamp, CEO at BMC.

Got that?

Marimba was in need of a sugar-daddy after its two main rivals were acquired by larger companies. Symantec last October shelled out $100m for ON Technology, and HP earlier this year plunked down cash for Novadigm.

Marimba today reported $8.3m in first quarter revenue, which is a drop from the $10.1m reported in the same quarter a year ago. The company suffered a net loss of $1.2m in this year's Q1.

Despite the lackluster results, Marimba will bring an impressive customer list over to BMC. Clients include NASA, Hutchinson 3G, MetLife, Starbucks and Barclays.

BMC today reported fourth quarter revenue of $400m, which compares to $381m last year. Net earnings came in at $41m.

Both BMC and Marimba are dabbling in the software virtualization market. These products are meant to automate typically time-consuming hardware and software management tasks such as provisioning applications and configuring servers.

The acquisition is expected to close in second quarter. ®

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