Business Objects announced Tuesday that it plans to acquire Infommersion Inc., a privately held company that develops information visualization and presentation software.
Business Objects S.A., with dual headquarters in San Jose, Calif., and Paris, France, develops business intelligence software.
The acquisition of Infommersion, based in San Diego, will be an all-cash transaction amounting to about $40 million.
Subject to approvals, the deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter.
What information visualization software actually enables users to do is access, analyze and share information in a very visual format—primarily through dashboards.
With Infommersions software, users are able to translate fairly complex data into visual formats for PowerPoint, Acrobat PDF and Web-based presentations.
Users are also able to create very specific dashboards for different users, culling data from a variety of sources.
“The acquisition of Infommersion adds another chapter in Business Objects long history of delivering innovative products that enable users to gain the most value from their corporate information,” said John Schwarz, CEO of Business Objects, in a statement.
“We believe the acquisition will allow us to bring visual innovation to business users in ways never seen before.”
Infommersion also brings with it a healthy client list, from Ford Motor Co., IBM, Wells Fargo and DuPont to Walt Disney Company, Intel Corp., Motorola and Pepsi Co.