(inter)national acquirer

SSA Global Technologies is rapidly emerging as one of the goliaths of the supply chain and enterprise software markets. The privately held software company has been on a buying spree since summer. Its latest acquisition is EXE Technologies Inc., a company best known for its warehouse management systems.

Once the deal, worth an estimated $47 million, is completed, SSA GT will merge EXE into a subsidiary. SSA GT, which sells supply chain applications to businesses already heavily invested in enterprise resource planning systems, says it believes EXE will enhance existing supply chain management and execution systems already in the company's portfolio.

The deal, which was announced in August, is a timely one for EXE, which had seen its stock market value plummet since the Internet bubble burst.

SSA GT has now become an experienced player in the acquisitions game: Only a month before the EXE acquisition was announced, SSA GT completed the acquisition of Baan, a leader in the enterprise software business, from the British firm Invensys PLC for $135 million. Also in July, SSA GT announced that it had completed the acquisition of Elevon, a provider of collaborative commerce software. In June, SSA GT acquired Ironside Technologies Inc., a provider of business-to-business electronic commerce software for distribution and manufacturing.