Sage is to buy ACCPAC, the accounting software arm of CA, for $110m. The Newcastle, UK vendor said its new acquisition will help its US subsidiary, Best Software, grow SME market share in North America, Australia and South Africa.

ACCPAC brings to the party 600 employees, 540,000 customers and 7,000 dealers worldwide. According to Sage there is very little overlap with Best's 6,600 strong dealer channel. Sage claims 1.8 million customers in North America. ACCPAC also brings revenues of approx. $90m and an annual operating profit of $10m (after charges), according to its results for the year ended March 31.

ACCPAC has not sit comfortably within CA for a long time. The enterprise software vendor says it has tested the investment waters twice to float its subsidiary, and twice it has been spurned by investors. It put ACCPAC up for sale in July 2003. The divestment to Sage is expected to complete in February, 2004.

According to ACCPAC, its revenue for the year ended March 31, 2003 was $88.7m, and its operating profit was $10.3m (after adding back charges for the amortization of purchased goodwill). Its net assets at March 31, 2003 were $8.2m. ®