Northgate Information Solutions has acquired the Engage Technologies group, an Irish-based developer of time and attendance software, for a seven-figure sum.
Northgate IS is the parent company of Northgate HR, formerly known as the Cara Payroll Group, which is the largest provider of outsourced payroll services in the country. The deal is expected to cement Northgate’s position in the human resources and payroll market. Northgate has integrated Engage’s web-enabled software, called Optimum, into its own ResourceLink portfolio which it is now marketing on a global basis.
The deal will also give the company access to a new set of customers. Engage had built up a significant presence in the time and attendance market, supplying its workforce optimisation software to Irish clients in the public and private sectors including Dublin City Council, Tyco Mallinckrodt, GlaxoSmithKline, ALZA Corporation (part of the Johnson & Johnson Group), Glanbia, Standard Life and Coca Cola Bottlers.
The group of companies comprises Engage Technologies and Engage Technologies Support, which have six employees between them. Engage operated from offices in Dublin and Cork and its staff will relocate to Northgate’s offices in the respective cities.
According to a spokesman for Northgate, the deal is part of three acquisitions, two of which have not yet been finalised. The other companies which may be acquired are both based in the UK.
By Gordon Smith
