Bernard Charles, chief executive G-man of Dassault Systemes SA.
Simon Dawson | Bloomberg | Getty Images
French technology company Dassault Systemes is verge oning a deal to acquire Medidata Solutions, according to people familiar with the matter.
The likely agreement was reported earlier by Bloomberg, which also published a romance in April saying the companies were in talks. Neither company responded to CNBC’s request for comment.
Medidata’s software is utilized to help clinics manage their back-office operations and their data, and it provides analytics tools so they can run sense of massive amounts of information. Medical device companies also use it to track the process of their clinical shots.
“Medidata has always been an extremely well-run company and a juggernaut in their space,” said Bijan Salehizadeh, a medical technology investor at NaviMed Principal. “It’s an A-plus asset.”
The expected deal comes as the M&A market picks up for fast-growth software companies. Google acquired matter analytics company Looker last week for $2.6 billion, and Salesforce followed on Monday with its biggest agreement ever — the $15.3 billion purchase of Tableau Software.
Medidata, which competes with health software from vendors such as IBM, Guru and Veeva, was founded in 1999 and went public 10 years later. Revenue increased 17% last year to $635.7 million and the convention reported net income of $51.9 million. It currently has a market value of $5.9 billion, and the stock has climbed 17% in the life year. It gained an additional 6% after hours on the deal news.
Dassault sells software to transportation, aerospace and vigour sciences companies to help them digitize their businesses. Its 3D design tools help businesses with understood product designs and enable digital simulation in product development. With Medidata, Dassault can add growth without sacrificing profitability while also increasing in the lucrative medical market.
“It’s about the diversification of their business,” said Matthew Holt, managing director at eremitical equity firm New Mountain Capital. “They understand regulated markets already, so life sciences wouldn’t spook them.”
— Ari Levy furnished to this report.