Flush AEAT buys Hyprotech for £34m

Following a year's negotiation, AEA Technology paid £34m, in July, for Canadian process simulation software company Hyprotech. AEAT expects to gain greater penetration of this fast growing market, building on February's purchase of Advanced Scientific Computing, also of Canada.

AEAT chief executive Peter Watson said the acquisition was in line with the company's strategy of seeking profitable growth. `Our products are complementary and customers are now looking for more than just product-based solutions. We will add our broader technical knowledge into Hyprotech's traditional markets to provide value added solutions.'

Hyprotech has two main products, HYSIM and HYSYS. The former is a predictive process simulation program intended for `conceptual' engineering design studies and process optimisation. The latter is a process simulation package, based on industry standards, for seamless data exchange.

The deal comes hot on the heels of AEAT's first financial results since it was privatised last September and `spun out' of the Atomic Energy Authority.

Sales rose by 4.3 per cent to £264m on the back of strong business overseas as well as domestic sales, which more than offset a drop in traditional AEA contracts.