More acquisitions: Hexagon’s turn

Hexagon today announce that it has acquired MicroSurvey Software Inc., a Canadian developer of software used in the surveying, construction, and for forensic reconstruction. I first became aware of MicroSurvey more than 10 years ago, when I worked on my first Daratech GIS market study – the company has been fiercely independent for over 25 years, duking it out with much larger competitors in the PC-based mapping arena. In fact, a decade ago MicroSurvey was the 40th fastest growing company in Canada according to Profit Magazine’s annual listing for 2001. Hexagon CEO Ola Rollen said, “The acquisition of MicroSurvey notably expands Hexagon’s product offerings and software development capabilities for several of our key markets including land surveying, construction and public safety. Additionally, both MicroSurvey’s software products and Hexagon’s instrument products enjoy strong leadership positions in these markets. The ability to offer such comprehensive, market-leading and innovative solutions will undoubtedly benefit both current and future customers of Hexagon.” According to Hexagon, “MicroSurvey’s turnover in 2010 amounted to approximately 2 MEUR”; the company employes 30 people. MicroSurvey posted an FAQ about the acquisition — read it here. It basically reassures customers that they will see no real changes: MicroSurvey will continue as a separate business unit, the staff stays as is,  and development and support remain unchanged. Sales contacts may change, as one objective of the acquisition is to get MicroSurvey products out through Hexagon’s much broader sales channels. My take: competition for the same customers is getting fierce. Autodesk and Bentley already offer surveying, civil engineering and mapping solutions, often to the public safety, transportation, utilities and communications customers Hexagon addresses with its Intergraph SG&I division. This acquisition, if handled right and if the products are up to the task, gives Hexagon a shot at keeping some of these sales in-house. Hexagon reports Q4 results on February 8 and we will likely learn more from their perspective at that time.