Tectura Beefs Up MBS Coverage With New Acquisition

Terms of the agreement, signed last week, weren't disclosed. However, the acquisition would nearly double Tectura's head count to about 1,000 people in North America, Europe and Australia, Tectura CEO Terry Petrzelka told CRN.

Aston built its business, largely in Europe, atop the Navision and Axapta product lines, which Microsoft acquired two years ago. Aston also runs a Great Plains practice in Ann Arbor, Mich., and has 200 U.S.-based employees, Petrzelka said.

Altogether, Tectura will now man 50 locations and support more than 4,000 customers, with implementations in 51 countries, Petrzelka said. He reckoned that the deal would put Tectura atop the pecking order of Navision and Axapta solution providers and make it the second-largest Great Plains solution provider after Dallas-based ePartners, a MBS partner that recently merged with EYT.

Plans call for Petrzelka to be global CEO of the combined company, with Aston's John Matterson and Claus Hansen to head North American and European operations, respectively. Aston CEO Mogen Elsberg is leaving the venture, Petrzelka said. Tectura also is in the process of moving its corporate headquarters from Tempe, Ariz., to San Mateo, Calif.

The Aston acquisition comes at a busy time for Tectura. It bought eight companies coming into this calendar year and has since purchased Sensible Solutions, Concord Business Systems, The Morrison Group and Cosmo Consult AG.

The mergers-and-acquisitions bug has bitten quite a few MBS partners as Microsoft devotes considerable resources to building market share and credibility in back-office applications critical to businesses of all sizes.