UK tech firm agrees £571m deal to buy Canadian software company Copperleaf

UK tech firm IFS has snapped up Canadian software company Copperleaf Technologies in a deal that values the company at CA$1bn (£571m). 

The London-headquartered tech company announced today that it has agreed to buy all of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Toronto-listed firm for CA$12 in cash per share. 

IFS develops and delivers cloud enterprise software for companies that manufacture and distribute goods, while Copperleaf provides AI-powered enterprise asset investment planning and management software. 

Copperleaf said the offer represents a premium of approximately 18 per cent on the closing price of its shares today, and a 70 per cent premium on the closing share price on May 3, when IFS made an offer for the firm. 

Copperleaf said its board unanimously approved the transaction and recommends that shareholders vote in favour of the deal. 

“This transaction is a great milestone in Copperleaf’s journey,” Amos Michelson, chair of Copperleaf, said in a statement. “It’s evidence of IFS’s belief in our organisation and recognition of our success, and rewards our shareholders with attractive cash consideration, providing immediate value and liquidity for their shares.”

Darren Roos, chair of IFS added that deal “creates compelling value for the complex, asset-intensive customers we serve as well as partners, investors and employees”.

Mark Moffat, chief executive of IFS, said he was “deeply excited about what Copperleaf brings to our extended customer offering”.  

“IFS continues to build on its position as the global software leader for Asset and Service Management, powered by Industrial AI,” he added. 

The companies said they anticipate the deal will be completed in the third quarter of this year. 

Related posts

Shops being ‘thwacked by colossal’ employment costs

London rents rise again as house prices hold: ‘It is nothing short of brutal’

Brexit hit to UK trade not as bad as first thought