Espreon chunks finally go to Reckon

in brief Australian financial software maker Reckon announced today it would buy the corporate services and cost recovery services arm of smaller rival Espreon for $18 million.

Reckon, one of Australia's largest home-grown software firms, has been in hot pursuit of Espreon for some time.

Reckon has been growing steadily, reporting revenues up 11 per cent to $31.5 million for the six months to June 2008 compared with the previous corresponding period.

In a submission to the ASX, Reckon described the corporate services arm of Espreon as a provider of documentation for company formations, secretarial services, trusts and self-managed super funds. The cost recovery services arm provides software for capturing client expenses.

Reckon's current software portfolio includes the popular Quicken, Quickbooks and Reckon Tools along with other products. It is anticipated that the transaction will be complete by 2 January next year.