Laval, Que.-based 20-20 Technologies Inc. announced yesterday it has been acquired by private technology sector investors Vector Capital Corp.
The Quebec firm is a developer of design software used in the interior design and furniture industry for more than 20 years. It was founded in 1987 and has also grown into a solutions provider for the manufacturing industry, providing technology on the plant floor up to point-of-sale. It has more than 500 employees based in 11 countries and is publicly traded on the TSX under the symbol TWT.
The deal was made after 20-20 spoke with 50 interested parties, Canadian Press reports. The company’s board unanimously approved the deal and recommended that shareholders vote in favour as well.
20-20 acquired its largest global competitor in 2008 with the purchase of Planit* Fusion. That deal came with 14 distributors active in Europe.
Vector will acquire all the issued and outstanding shares of 20-20 for $77 million in cash. That’s a $4 per share price. In the past year, 20-20’s share price has dipped as low as $2.21 and gone as high as $4.12.
Vector describes its public investment strategy as taking strategic stakes in undervalued companies, and will make a public company private in the right situation. Vector has previously invested in Corel, Register.com, SafeNet, and WinZip. The capital firm only invests in tech companies with at least $30 million in revenue.