Smart move from WANdisco as it buys software application

Shares in Sheffield-based WANdisco rose six per cent following the announcement of the deal, a rise of 18p to 310p.

The shares were priced at 180p when the group floated in June, giving investors a 72 per cent increase in share price in just three months.

Following the deal, WANdisco said it will offer SmartSVN at a 50 per cent discount to its previous cost.

It will also throw in one year of support.

Launched in 2005, SmartSVN has been widely adopted by software developers across more than 2,500 companies, including many in the Fortune Global 500 index.

WANdisco said a major key to SmartSVN’s success has been its platform independence, with versions available for Windows, Linux, Unix and Mac OS X operating systems.

The company said the deal will allow it to offer a more complete solution and it will also provide cross-sell potential between SmartSVN users and WANdisco’s Enterprise Subversion product.

It has signed up the vendor to provide consulting and training services to allow for the smooth integration of SmartSVN into WANdisco’s existing product line.

David Richards, WANdisco’s chairman and chief executive, said: “I am delighted that we have completed the agreement to purchase SmartSVN.

“It is proven in the marketplace and the feedback from our existing customers who have used it for years has been excellent.

“Traditionally, our products have been used by large global IT organisations to enable their Subversion servers to perform and scale with 24/7 avail- ability.

“Now SmartSVN will enable us to broaden out our solution stack to reach Subversion’s millions of end-users, as well as enable us to embolden our efforts to target the important SME market.”

WANdisco reported a 60 per cent increase in subscriptions in the first half of 2012.

The company said trading for the first six months of the year has been strong and it has signed up a number of new clients.

Its blue chip clients include Wal-Mart/Asda, Aviva, AT&T, Barclays, Hewlett Packard, Honda, Intel, Johnson & Johnson, Motorola and Nokia.