Marcam Solutions Agrees to be acquired by Invensys

Calling it a major step toward realizing its vision of a real-time, bottoms up, plant-focused ERP system, Invensys Plc. entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Marcam Solutions Inc. (Newton, MA) for $7.50 per share in cash, or approximately $60 million. Invensys is a global electronics and engineering company created by the merger of BTR plc and Siebe plc in February 1999.

Marcam's board of directors unanimously approved the offer. Under the terms of the merger agreement with Marcam, a subsidiary of Invensys is expected to start a tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of Marcam no later than June 3.

Marcam is a global provider of process enterprise resource planning (ERP) and enterprise asset management (EAM) solutions, serving AS/400, UNIX and NT environments

According to Invensys, combining Marcam software with its successful Wonderware FactorySuite will enable it to offer a complete software solution to the process automation market. "This proposed acquisition provides further evidence of Invensys' strategy to enhance our leadership position in the Automation and Controls industry," says Allen Yurko, chief executive of Invensys.

"This acquisition shows the depth of commitment to our 'Sensor to Boardroom' strategy," says George Sarney, division chief executive of the Invensys Intelligent Automation Division. "We believe Wonderware's presence as a leading source of plant data and Marcam's position as a leading Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) supplier for the process industry will enable a new generation of plant-centric information systems."

"The combination of Marcam, our FactorySuite and the commercial simulation software from our sister company, Simulation Sciences, will enable us to extend our already broad software product offerings into the higher end world of enterprise software," says Roy Slavin, president and CEO of Irvine, Calif.-based Wonderware (a member of the Invensys Intelligent Automation Division).

According to Jonathan Crane, Marcam chairman, president and CEO, his company is appreciative of the confidence Invensys has in Marcam as evidenced by this merger. "We are confident our employees and affiliates will gain from the much larger size of the Intelligent Automation division at Invensys and Wonderware's standing in a very competitive marketplace."

Marcam's process ERP solutions address the unique requirements of its target markets: food, beverage, and chemical industries. The Protean and PRISM solutions encompass a broad range of applications including production, planning, inventory, procurement, order management, costing, financials and maintenance.

Marcam also recently announced several new customers have purchased its Protean solution including Exxon Chemical Americas, a division of Exxon Chemical Company; Gossen Corp., a Wisconsin-based plastics manufacturer; and Monomerous Colombo Venezolanos, a Latin American-based producer of fertilizer. "We are finding that more and more chemical companies are relying on our process ERP software to model real-world manufacturing processes, manage demanding supply chain requirements, and track multiple costing and inventory variables simultaneously," says Richard Howells, director of Industry Marketing at Marcam.

Avantis is Marcam's solution for the EAM market. The Avantis.XA and Avantis.Pro suites provide functionality including maintenance management, MRO inventory control and procurement. Targeted to Fortune 500 companies, Avantis is widely used in capital-intensive industries such as chemical, metals & mining, and pulp & paper, and for facilities management in areas such as education and municipalities.