In another move that changes the face of the enterprise software industry, Infor Global Solutions said Monday it is acquiring SSA Global Technologies for US$19.50 per share, or about US$1.4 billion in cash.

The combined company, which will have about US$1.6 billion in revenue, gains more muscle to compete globally with enterprise software providers Oracle and SAP.

The move will also help Infor to build out applications based on SOA (service-oriented architecture) and with expertise in a vertical industry, as both companies have made inroads into the manufacturing industry, said Ray Wang, senior analyst with Forrester Research.

Infor, based in Alpharetta, Georgia, and formerly known as Agilisys, sells business software such as enterprise resource and supply chain planning to industries including manufacturing, automotive, consumer packaged goods and pharmaceuticals. Its recent acquisitions include PLM (product life cycle management) maker Formation Systems, the ERP (enterprise resource planning) assets of Geac Computer and asset performance management software provider Datastream Systems.

SSA Global, based in Chicago, has been on a shopping spree of its own in recent years, acquiring such companies as ERM (enterprise risk management) software provider Baan in 2003 and CRM (customer relationship management) maker Ephiphany last year.

Pending regulatory and shareholder approval, the deal is expected to close in the third quarter.