American system integration consultancy, CIBER, has announced that it is buying UK CRM firm Ascent Technology in a deal that is intended to help the US company expand its place in the British marketplace. Ascent is a leading UK partner for both SAP and Sage Enterprise Resource Planning solutions and the author of the Ascent customer relationship management software solution.

As a Microsoft partner with a focus on the SME marketplace, Ascent claims to be very strong at developing long-term customer relationships. The company's main product is the Sage Line 500 ERP, based on Microsoft's CRM technology.

Additionally, in partnership Ascent has also created a SAP model aimed at delivering pre-packaged mySAP All-in-One solutions to SME's in a number of vertical markets. For CIBER the size of the UK CRM marketplace, the largest market in biggest in Western Europe, was one of the deciding factors behind the sale.  

Peter Lloyd, Ascent's CEO told SM365 that the company had been looking for a buyer for some time

'We wanted to join forces with a larger industry player to exploit both vertical and geographical market opportunities.  CIBER facilitates the perfect blend of local entrepreneurship, with existing London and Oxford operations, a very credible international model and customer list, and an excellent reputation for delivery,' he added.

The acquisition cost for CIBER is said to be approximately $40m.