Irvine’s Kofax PLC, which makes software that helps companies cut down on paper, said it has bought Boston-based 170 systems Inc. for $33 million in cash and debt.
170 Systems is a venture-backed startup that makes invoice processing and accounting software.
It has 140 workers and some 150 customers, including ConAgra Foods Inc., Juniper Networks Inc., Thomson Reuters Corp. and Verizon Wireless, a unit of Verizon Communications Inc.
Kofax Chief Executive Reynolds Bish said the acquisition addressed “a significant competitive disadvantage we’ve publicly acknowledged and discussed in some detail over the past year.”
The buy “should therefore allow us to better pursue our revenue growth strategies,” he said.
The buy allows Kofax to integrate invoice processing that uses both paper and electronic billing, the company said.
170 Systems had 2008 sales of about $28 million and wasn’t profitable.
Kofax plans to integrate the buy but will keep the office in Boston, a spokesman said.
Kofax makes scanning software used by businesses to get rid of paper and speed up work productivity.
The software collects paper documents, forms, invoices, e-mail and photos and organizes them into a searchable database of electronic files.
Bish, who was brought in from a competitor to streamline the company, has made sweeping changes at Kofax in the past year or so.
He’s simplified the reporting structure at Kofax’s sites around the world, rebranded its portfolio of software and added several executives to its upper ranks.
The company has recently announced a slew of customer wins in healthcare, logistics and with government agencies.
Kofax, which got its start in Irvine in 1985, has 365 workers here and some 1,200 in all.
The company sees an estimated $300 million in yearly sales.
