MYOB sells US business, leaves China

Stephen Withers
Friday, 28 November 2008 04:47

IT Industry - Development

Acclivity's other interests include Werck (a joint venture that develops point of sale software for the Mac) and acting as an authorised solution provider for CRM/ERP SaaS product NetSuite.

The combined changes are expected to increase MYOB's 2008 earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) by $6.2 million, largely due to a reduction in operational expenses and product development costs.

However, the changes will also involve cash costs of $4 million and a $7.3 million writedown of intangible assets.

The exact terms of the Acclivity transaction have not been disclosed.

The company is also predicting reduced sales of new licences, but says maintenance charges and other revenues are running ahead of plan and that EBITDA for 2008 should be 6 percent higher than in 2007 on a like-for-like basis.

The Acclivity deal brings the company we know as MYOB full circle. It started as a regional republisher of the MYOB software, and subsequently acquired the intellectual property relating to the product, expanding into North America and Europe.

Earlier in 2008, MYOB sold its UK division to Mamut, a provider of software and Internet services for SMEs. Selling its US operation returns the company to its original Asia-Pacific footprint, although its product portfolio has changed significantly since the early 1990s.