Carmel-based software firm acquired in $32M deal

Carmel-based Determine Inc., a 23-year-old publicly traded software company that has yet to turn an annual profit, is set to be acquired by Cherry Hill, New Jersey-based Corcentric Inc. for $32 million.

The deal, announced Monday, is expected to close in the second quarter. The boards of both companies have approved of the deal.

Determine, which moved its headquarters from Silicon Valley to Carmel in 2016, sells software that helps companies manage suppliers, contracts and procurement. It has about 250 clients.

Corcentric, a private company, is a leading provider of procurement and financial process automation products. It has more than 6,000 customers in manufacturing, transportation, distribution, retail, health care and financial services.

The companies did not say whether they planned to maintain operations in Indianapolis. Determine had about 150 employees companywide about a year ago, including 50 or so in Indianapolis.

“We are very excited about the opportunity to elevate the Determine Cloud Platform and consolidate the Determine team, technology and know-how with Corcentric,” Determine CEO Patrick Stakenas said in written remarks. “There is tremendous value that this new relationship will unlock for our customers, prospects and employees. We have worked very hard over the last few years to develop our innovative platform and we are eager to bring this robust solution to Corcentric’s customers as well as to a wider market though broader distribution opportunities.”

Determine executives hoped moving the firm to Indiana would help turn around its fortunes, but that didn’t happen. In December, the company was delisted by NASDAQ after its shareholder equity fell below the minimum requirement of $2.5 million.

Determine had shareholder equity of $8.4 million in September 2017, but that dropped to negative $2.1 million a year later. The company’s stock now trades on the over-the-counter market.

The company’s losses have escalated. In the six months that ended Sept. 30, Determine lost $7.7 million on $11.8 million in revenue. That compared to a loss of $4 million on revenue of $13.9 million the previous year.

“The acquisition of Determine is both synergistic and transformative for Corcentric,” Corcentric President Matt Clark said in written comments. “We’ve followed the Determine Cloud Platform development for some time and are excited by the prospect of adding its robust capabilities, along with the collective Determine team’s business experience, to the Corcentric family.  We believe blending Determine with Corcentric … increases our global market footprint so we will have the opportunity serve an expanded base."

Shares of Determine closed at 25 cents Wednesday.