Pitney Bowes buys Portrait Software in £44m deal

The acquisition is being made via the communications technology firm’s business insight division, known as Pitney Bowes MapInfo.

Market analyst Gartner flagged “customer insight” as one of the new directions of the Pitney Bowes business, and said the Portrait acquisition would bring with it additional products in this area.

Gartner analyst Michael Moaz said: “Acquiring Portrait Software could enable Pitney Bowes to deepen its go-to-market strategy in the growth area that includes customer insight and intelligent interaction. But a clear marketing position will also be necessary.”

PB bid 31p a share for the software company and last week it announced that 90% of shares had been tendered in support of the deal.

The takeover has been declared wholly unconditional and as such PB can now start the process for compulsory acquisition of the outstanding 10% of shares.

PB chairman and CEO Murray Martin (pictured) said: “The capabilities we found at Portrait Software are an excellent complement to our existing offerings and will find their way into the suite of tools we provide to organisations of all sizes. We know that our customers are looking to communicate with their customers and prospects in ways that generate real results; increasingly, Pitney Bowes can help them do that.”