Agilisys Continues Acquisition Spree with NxTrend

Enterprise software conglomerate adds distribution industry solution provider to growing portfolio

Enterprise software conglomerate adds distribution industry solution provider to growing portfolio

Atlanta — June 8, 2004 — Agilisys, a supplier of enterprise software solutions to various manufacturing and wholesale distribution industries, has acquired NxTrend, a provider of enterprise commerce management solutions, in a move to expand Agilisys' existing wholesale distribution capabilities and bolster the combined company's position in the distribution software market.

Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed, but the combined entity of Agilisys and NxTrend will have more than 1,500 employees serving 7,500 customers in 31 countries and revenue approaching $300 million.

Founded some 25 years ago, Colorado Springs, Colo.-based NxTrend provides solutions designed to help distributors implement best practices in the areas of inventory management, order processing, sales, customer service, warehouse logistics, electronic commerce and strategic business analysis. The company built a customer base of more than 1,900 companies, with 90,000 users that span the electrical, building materials, industrial, plumbing/heating/air conditioning, paper and medical industries.

"For over two decades, NxTrend has been on the forefront of developing distribution-specific [enterprise resource planning (ERP)] and supply chain management solutions," said Jim Schaper, chairman and CEO of Agilisys. "By combining NxTrend's strengths with Agilisys' existing capabilities and global infrastructure, we will be able to enhance our solutions, provide additional benefits to our customers and continue to increase our competitive advantage globally."

Agilisys has been on a mission to gain leadership positions in selected vertical markets and targeted geographies through a combination of acquisitions and organic growth. In an interview earlier this year, Thomas Lynch, Agilisys' senior vice president of marketing and strategic planning, said that the provider was building a portfolio of vertically focused ERP and supply chain applications to compete with the likes of German software company SAP.

Agilisys' acquisition spree has included process manufacturing capabilities acquired from SCT Corp in May 2002, auto industry solution providers Brain (acquired in November 2002, also strong in discrete manufacturing) and Future 3 (June 2003), Infor AG (February 2004), wholesale distribution player Daly.commerce (also February 2004), and financials and human resources solution provider Varial (March 2004).

"Agilisys is a world-class organization with the global infrastructure and financial reach to help NxTrend strengthen its leadership position in the wholesale distribution industry," said Mike Cornell, chairman and CEO of NxTrend.

Cornell said that NxTrend's customer would benefit from increased investments in product development and expanded resources, while the provider's employees would benefit from the growth that will result from becoming part of Agilisys. "NxTrend looks forward to working with the Agilisys team to build on our collective expertise and become a leading global provider of software for the wholesale distribution industry," Cornell concluded.

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