Open Text to acquire Captaris for $131 million

Open Text Corp., a Canadian software company, will acquire Captaris Inc. for $131 million cash, the companies said Thursday.

Open Text is offering $4.80 per share for Captaris, a premium of 28 percent over its closing price of $3.74 on Wednesday.

Open Text, based in Waterloo, Ontario, makes enterprise content management software. Captaris, based in Bellevue, Wash., makes software used to automate business processes, manage documents electronically and perform functions such as converting paper documents to digital content.

The deal is expected to close by the end of the year, subject to approval by regulators and Captaris shareholders.

Captaris announced in March it was considering strategic alternatives, but it subsequently rejected a a takeover bid from private equity firm Vector Capital worth $4.75 per share. Over the past 52 weeks, Captaris shares have traded between $3.14 and $5.58.

Open Text shares declined $2.16, or 6.2 percent, to $32.80 Thursday. Captaris shares leaped 91 cents, or 24.3 percent, to $4.65.