Borland to Buy Starbase for $24 Million

Borland Software Corp. is acquiring Starbase Corp. in a cash deal worth $24 million, the companys second acquisition in a week.

The addition of Starbase brings configuration management software expertise into Borlands product mix and helps to extend the development toolmakers coverage of the application development lifecycle, the company said on Wednesday.

Starbase, in Santa Ana, Calif., has more than 4,000 customers in the software configuration management software space. Starbases software focuses on the entire software development lifecycle, including requirement definition and management, application software and content development, and change and configuration management.

"Starbase clearly had the next generation configuration management software out there," CEO Dale Fuller said in a call with reporters and analysts. "It was all Internet-based. … It was the natural extension for us into the application development lifecycle."

Fuller said Borland has been "in expansion phase" for the last several quarters. The company announced its acquisition of BoldSoft AB, a Swedish model driven architecture software company, on Monday.

Fuller said Borland sought Starbase as a way to "expand our addressable market."

Frederick Ball, chief financial officer at Borland, said, "Our first goal is to drive revenue growth."

Borland has agreed to buy all the outstanding shares of Starbase for $2.75 per share, which amounts to around $24 million, Ball said.

He said the company expects to incur about $7 million to $12 million in acquisition and transaction costs in its fourth quarter, should the acquisition close during the quarter.

In addition, Ball said Borland expects Starbase to contribute $30 million to $35 million to the companys 2003 revenue.