I have been speculating for years now about when Informatica would finally enter the MDM marketplace. It is a leader in the integration space, and has good data quality offerings via its acquisitions of Similarity Systems, and more recently Identity Systems and Address Doctor. I am not sure why Informatica held off so long from gaining exposure to the fast growing MDM market, but its purchase of an MDM platform hub has seemed almost inevitable.
I most recently speculated about the eventual target being Siperian. Today the two finally tied the knot, with Infomatica buying Siperian for around $130 million in cash. I estimate that this is a revenue multiple of perhaps four times. This is a very logical purchase for both companies. Siperian has solid technology based on a flexible business model, and will be very complementary to Informatica’s data quality and integration offerings.
This acquisition further confirms the attractiveness of the MDM market, and is good news for the other MDM platform vendors. Market rumours are swirling as we speak about the purchase of Initiate (perhaps by IBM) and if this happens then it could be a gold rush to pick off the better quality independent companies. Despite many purchases already in this space, there are still plenty of potential further acquirers out there.