ClickSoftware acquires SaaS co AST for $1.7m

ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CKSW) has signed a deal to acquire the assets of AST (marketed as The Contractor Office), including its technology, customers and employees, for $1.7 million in cash. ClickSoftware develops mobile workforce management and service optimization solutions.

After rising 0.7% at the opening, ClickSoftware's share fell 0.4% in early trading to $5.89.

ClickSoftware will pay an additional small amount, subject to AST meeting certain targets. The company expects to close the deal later this month.

ClickSoftware chairman and CEO Dr. Moshe BenBassat said, "Our vision is to provide field service management solutions for every size of service business from five employees to 50,000. In order to meet the needs of small service businesses, we recognized that we needed to provide an affordable but powerful web-based field service management solution. Through this acquisition, we now have the platform, experience and capabilities to provide exactly that."

BenBassat added, "We were looking for a Software as a Service (SaaS) company to complement ClickSoftware's portfolio of solutions. AST emerged as a leading player among On Demand Field Service Management vendors who offer a SaaS solution. This acquisition will join a broader SaaS initiative that will offer on-demand solutions to medium and enterprise sized service organizations."

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on July 7, 2009