Rocket Software Announces $35M Acquisition of UK-Based ASTRAC

Rocket Software has purchased ASTRAC, a UK-based developer of Business Intelligence and Data Mining software. The value of the cash deal is USD $35 million.

Newton, MA and Warwick, UK (PRWEB) June 15, 2005 - Rocket Software (www.rocketsoftware.com), a Boston-based developer of Enterprise Infrastructure products, today announced that it has bought employee-owned ASTRAC (www.astrac.com), a leading developer of Business Intelligence (BI) and Data Mining software solutions that combine the power of IBM enterprise systems with popular Microsoft applications. The value of the cash deal is USD $35 million.

ASTRAC's software was originally built by IBM as its Application System (AS) offering; ASTRAC was established as an independent firm in 1986, and the company assumed responsibility for supporting AS products under a long-term agreement with IBM in 1997. ASTRAC has considerably extended the technology it inherited from IBM, and further agreements between the two companies have allowed ASTRAC to grow its technical and marketing capabilities. AS is deployed in mission-critical applications by Fortune 100 companies worldwide.

The acquisition of ASTRAC is Rocket's largest to date. The company recently bought Austin-based Servergraph for $10 million, and has also purchased several other firms in the last three years. In addition to acquiring ASTRAC's award-winning technology, Rocket will dramatically increase its footprint in Europe, Asia and Africa through relationships with ASTRAC's network of resellers and partners.

Andy Youniss, CEO of Rocket Software, says "this major acquisition is an important step for us as we expand Rocket's global reach and technology portfolio. In addition, Europe is a particularly significant market for us, and this deal greatly increases our presence. As part of our commitment to Europe, we are looking forward to expanding the Warwick-based development center to tap the talent not just at ASTRAC, but in the technologically strategic area of the UK's West Midlands, for new-product development efforts."

Clive Titcomb, founder of ASTRAC added, "There are powerful synergies between the two companies which give rise to immediate and long-term opportunities for the development of ASTRAC's and Rocket's technologies, customers, partners and people. It's difficult to imagine finding a better partner to take ASTRAC forward to the next level of success."

ASTRAC has received a number of prestigious honors in the last several years:
-The company is a current holder of The Queen's Award for Enterprise, which was presented to the company by the Queen to honor the company's role in developing international trade.
-For the last three years ASTRAC has been named in Deloitte & Touche Technology European Fast 500 companies.
-For five consecutive years the company has been rated as one of the fastest growing technology companies in the UK, rising to 14th position on the Deloitte & Touche Technology Fast 50 UK and securing the top award for sustained growth, outstripping all other technology companies in the UK's Midlands region.

About Rocket Software:
Founded in 1990, Rocket Software is a global development firm that builds Enterprise Infrastructure products for the world's leading OEMs, networks and software companies. The company's current lines of business complement and extend strategic OEM offerings in the areas of enterprise and mobile security, relational databases, mobile and wireless computing, and operational support systems (OSS). Rocket's current OEM relationships and technology partners include IBM, RSA Security, Microsoft, NEC, and Toshiba. Rocket Software is based in Newton, Mass., and employs more than 200 people worldwide. For more information, visit www.rocketsoftware.com.

About ASTRAC:
ASTRAC develops, markets, licenses and services software for use by management and professionals in support of their business operations. Today, ASTRAC AS is installed, in active use and fully supported, in 19 countries around the world. Many of the world's largest corporations and government organizations are ASTRAC customers.

Contact:
Richard Berman
510-625-8372
richard@verbfactory.com

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