Jive Software Inc. of the US has acquired toolbar developer OffiSync Ltd. for $30 million, reportedly in shares. Although the acquisition is in shares, it is not bad for OffiSync, especially since Jive is planning an IPO soon.
OffiSync CEO Oudi Antebi and CTO Roy Antebi founded the company in 2008. The company develops toolbars for synchronizing documents on Microsoft Office, Google Docs, and Google Apps environments.
OffiSync's investors include Vertex Venture Capital, Seattle-based fund GTD Capital LLC, run by former VMware CEO Paul Maritz and Pelephone CEO Eyal Levy, and Trilogy Equity Partners. OffiSync raised $1 million, and investors will make a ten-fold return on investment.
Synchronizing between two different digital work environments is difficult without mediation tools, which is where the importance of OffiSync comes in. The acquisition is also important because OffiSync is not the only player on the field. Google Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG) launched Google Cloud Connect a few months ago to provide a similar service.
In a YouTube video in February, Oudi Antebi explained the differences between his company's solution and that of Google. Nonetheless, it is hard to see how these difference add up to a company value of tens of millions of dollars.
Jive Software develops enterprise communication and collaboration software for companies and social networks. Jive CEO Tony Zingale replace Mercury Enterprise Software CEO Amnon Landan in 2005 in the wake of an options backdating scandal. Zingale, who was appointed Jive CEO in February, said that he planned to take the company public this year, when it will have $100 million in sales. The company raised $57 million from Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on May 24, 2011
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