Autonomy acquires Interwoven for $775m

Purchase of content management firm aims to expand legal and compliance foothold

Autonomy expects to realise over £28m in savings after the Interwoven deal

After posting its best financial results ever, UK software firm Autonomy Corporation has announced that it will acquire content management systems developer Interwoven for $775m (£561.5m).

Autonomy said that it was attracted to the deal because it wants to expand its presence in the worldwide legal and compliance industry.

As part of the arrangement, Interwoven stockholders will receive approximately $16.20 (£11.70) a share. The deal was reportedly financed with cash, a £220m underwritten placing and a loan from Barclays.

Following completion of the deal in the second quarter of 2009, Autonomy will have a cash balance of around $75m (£54.3m).

The company expects to generate annual costs synergies of approximately $40m (£28.9m) during the 12 months following the deal completion from the elimination of duplicate costs.

The consolidated group will have a client base of 20,000 businesses across the globe.