PeopleSoft Inc. (Nasdaq: PSFT) Wednesday says it is acquiring privately-held SkillsVillage for $32 million in cash and stocks.
The combination of the two companies is expected to give PeopleSoft an edge in the online customer relationship management (CRM) and automated e-procurement sectors.
Pleasanton-based PeopleSoft specializes in CRM, supply chain management and enterprise management fields, while SkillsVillage is an application service provider (ASP) in automating services acquisition.
“We see this as a terrific opportunity because SkillsVillage is a leader in the services space and accelerates us years ahead of the competition,” says Conway during a conference call to investors.
PeopleSoft says it added more than 50 new customers in the first quarter of 2001 and has always had a working relationship with Sunnyvale-based SkillsVillage.
“We’ve been working with PeopleSoft since we started the company so there are a lot of synergies that already exist. This is a natural,” says SkillsVillage CEO Chris Wong.
Pending federal and stockholder approval, the acquisition is scheduled to close at the end of the month.