FRANKFURT, Dec 1 (Reuters) - U.S. software management groupCA Inc said on Thursday it has agreed to buy Austrianbusiness automation firm Automic from private equity group EQTin a 600 million euro ($635 million) deal as it seeks to expandin Europe.
Automic specialises in helping developers of some of themost complex business applications to roll out new releases ofsoftware at companies such as Bosch, Netflix, eBay, Exxon Mobil,Vodafone, Société Générale, General Electric and Swisscom.
It aims to post earnings before interest, taxes,depreciation and amortization of 44 million euros in its fiscalyear ending in April 2017, on sales of 142 million.
The deal values Automic at 13.6 times its expected coreearnings, while CA trades at 7.5 times.
CA's shares dropped 3.4 percent by 1633 GMT.
Buyout group EQT acquired the company in 2012 for 210million euros and made 3.2 times its money as measured by itsinternal rate of return of more than 30 percent.
At the time of EQT's acquisition of Automic, the companymade 65 million euros in sales and was very focused on itsclients in the German-speaking world.
EQT brought in a new management team, bought the largestEuropean peer Orsyp and invested in the U.S. sales force.
The buyout group had launched an auction in summer with thehelp of investment banks Arma Partners, Goldman Sachs andattracted suitors including buyout group Advent. ($1 = 0.9428 euros) (Reporting by Arno Schuetze; Editing by Eric Auchard/RuthPitchford)