Sage Software, a subsidiary of The Sage Group plc (SGE:L), announced that it has agreed to acquire the Master Builder product and business from Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU) . The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and expected to be completed within 30 days. The company also announced that it has acquired Contractor Anywhere Inc., developer of accounting, service, and project management software for building and service contractors. The acquired products will complement Sage Software’s award-winning Sage Timberline Office, which provides accounting, estimating, and operations management software for the construction and real estate industries. The acquisitions enable Sage Software to service a broader range of construction organizations, from small contractors and service trades, to large construction firms.
“Our strategy is to provide small and mid-sized businesses across key industries with choices that meet their needs today and with options to support them throughout their business lives,” said Sage Software President and CEO Ron Verni. “The acquisitions of Master Builder and Contractor Anywhere enable Sage Software to offer construction companies tremendous depth of choice.”
With these acquisitions, customers have even greater migration opportunities. Those who outgrow entry level products, such as Peachtree by Sage Premium Accounting for Construction, can migrate to Contractor Anywhere, or Master Builder, and eventually to the more powerful tools found in Sage Timberline Office.
“This new, comprehensive portfolio is another example of how Sage Software continues to deliver on our Customer for Life strategy by providing the most complete scalable suite of offerings tailored for the construction industry. Historically nearly one-fifth of our customers migrate from our small business solutions to our mid-market solutions as their businesses grow,“ Verni said. “Once they're part of the Sage family, they like to stay in the Sage family.”
Customers of both Master Builder and Contractor Anywhere will benefit from access to Sage Software’s line of estimating products and the company’s award-winning support organization. Currently about 6,000 customers use Master Builder and Contractor Anywhere software. Sage Timberline Office software is used by more than 20,000 businesses.
Master Builder was introduced in 1980 by Sebastopol, California-based OMware, Inc., which was acquired by Intuit in 2001 and operated as Intuit's Construction Business Solutions from offices in Santa Rosa, California. Contractor Anywhere was founded in 2000 and is based in Savannah, Ga.
Master Builder and Contractor Anywhere are the latest in a series of targeted acquisitions that enable Sage Software to provide small and mid-sized businesses the broadest selection of accounting and business management applications from a single vendor. In February 2006 the company acquired merchant services provider Verus Financial Management Inc. Sage Software has made 20 acquisitions since 1998.
