Mascon Global, Maars To Merge In Two Months

Mascon Global, which is working on its proposed $40 million global depository receipt issue, now plans to merge with Chennai-based Maars Software International in about two months.

Confirming the move, Nandu N Thondavadi, managing partner and chief executive officer of Mascon Global said: "The board has considered the merger and decided on the share swap as well." The stock swap has been decided at 1:9 (one share of Mascon for every nine shares held by Maars).

V Vedantham, director of Maars Software said, "The merger should prove beneficial for both of us as we will get access to the US markets where Mascon has a very strong presence. We are further looking at leveraging the enterprise application integration (EAI) market."

Although both the companies have already started working together, they are currently in the process of completing the necessary formalities and obtaining statutory approvals.

Talking about the advantages of merging with Maars Software, Thondavadi said, "Maars is a dominant player in the enterprise resource planning (ERP) market. They have very strong presence in the UK, where we have only a marginal presence."

Maars also has a fairly strong SAP practice with clients such as Rolls Royce, Barkley's Bank, Pratt & Whitney and also the Overland Group, which manages internationally famous brands such as Crocodile, Hursh Puppies, etc.

Thondavadi said, "With this kind of a presence it would prove beneficial for both of us to consolidate our UK operations." On the revenue front, Mascon expects Maars to do revenues of around $25 million in the current fiscal as against about $16 million last year. "Acquisitions will remain an important part of our business strategy in future also," Thondavadi added.

Out of a total strength of 550 employees in Maars, about 350 are trained SAP professionals. For Maars, the merger will give access to the US markets as Mascon has a strong presence in North American market. Maars Software in the UK will be renamed Mascon.

In the ERP market, Maars has several products to its credit: MaarsMan, for small- and medium-size enterprises; MaarsCompace, a for small enterprises; Esteem, a popular accounting package used by over 5,000 customers in the UK.

The company has another product, Technical Direct, which is a telephone billing package that can be integrated in a Epabx.

Thondavadi also said that Maars' presence in the domestic ERP market is also good. With the merger, Mascon is expected to become one of the largest players in the ERP mart.