Absolute Acquires Asset Management Company

Absolute Software yesterday announced the $12.1 million acquisition of Pole Position Software, owner of LANrev, in a deal that will help expand Absolute further into asset management.

Absolute is best known for its Computrace software suite, which enables enterprises to track the location of mobile assets with its geotechnology feature and freeze device data in the event of loss or theft, as well as monitor hardware and software configurations within the assets. The purchase of LANrev greatly expands Absolute’s portfolio, giving it more robust capabilities in license management, automated patch management, software metering, software distribution, configuration management and power management.

LANrev is cash flow positive and currently supports 200,000 seats, with clients including NASA, Time Warner and Chicago Public Schools. Absolute reports that it will rebrand the suite as Absolute Asset Management, which will be sold through the channel in early 2010 as an add-on term license for new and existing Computrace customers and as a standalone enterprise package. Absolute plans on fully integrating Absolute Asset Management into its current product base sometime later in the year

“As the endpoint management and data protection markets continue to merge, LANrev to our product portfolio tightly aligns with our strategy to further strengthen our competitive position in the asset management and data protection market,” John Livingston chairman and chief executive officer at Absolute Software, said in a statement. “This acquisition leverages our existing sales channels, Software-as-a-Service business model, current customer base and unique embedded position in the computer firmware to drive growth over the long-term.”

Under the purchase agreement, Absolute agreed to pay $9.6 million in cash immediately and an additional $2.5 million and 500,000 common shares paid over a three-year period. Officials with Pole Position say Absolute’s healthy OEM and reseller channels will give LANrev a significant boost in marketing and sales resources to help it capture a more significant share of the market in its new incarnation.

“By joining forces with Absolute, we are gaining access to more robust sales channels as well as a larger marketing, research and development and customer support infrastructure," said Martin Bestmann of Pole Position Software in a statement. "We have already been winning deals over the leading asset management vendors and expect to rapidly increase our penetration. In addition, together with the Absolute development team, we will be able to expand our feature sets and leverage Computrace to further differentiate our product offering.”