Microsoft has announced its intention to buy Norwegian search software firm Fast Search and Transfer (Fast) in a deal valued at $1.2bn (£600m).

The deal, which sent shares in the Oslo-based company soaring by 41% last month, will help the software giant expand into the business search market, building on corporate demand for its Windows and Office software.

Microsoft said the deal could be completed in the second quarter of this year. Fast’s board unanimously backed the proposal, according to a statement released through the Oslo Stock Exchange.

John Lervik, CEO of Fast, said: “This acquisition gives Fast an exciting way to spread our cutting-edge search technologies and innovations to more and more organisations across the world. It validates Fast’s momentum and leadership in enterprise search.”

Fast is the second largest provider of internet search software to companies, allowing them to comb internal corporate documents and other data to find the information they need more quickly and easily.

Jeff Raikes, president of Microsoft’s business division, said: “Enterprise search is becoming an indispensable tool to businesses of all sizes, helping people find, use and share critical business information quickly.”

Without such technology, Raikes told Bloomberg, locating data within a corporate network could be more difficult than finding information on the internet.

“You can find football scores online in five seconds, but it can take five hours inside a company to find last year’s business plan,” he said.

The acquisition is likely to make Cambridge-based firm Autonomy, which has an estimated 17,000 customers worldwide and is the market leader, a prime target for a takeover by rivals, analysts said.