Software AG said it had reached an agreement to buy 47.68 percent of IDS Scheer's stock from company founders August-Wilhelm Scheer and Alexander Pocsay. Those shares will be submitted as part of a public tender to be made later this quarter by a Software AG subsidiary. The company will offer €15 (US$21) in cash for each outstanding share, it said.

IDS Scheer, based in Saarbrucken, Germany, had approximately €400 million in sales during 2008. The combined company would have more than 6,000 workers and €1 billion in revenue, according to Software AG, which is based in Darmstadt, Germany.

Software AG said the acquisition would lead to growth through sales of the companies' combined SOA (service-oriented architecture) and BPM products, and through IDS Scheer's strength in SAP consulting services.

SOA refers to an IT architecture approach where applications are assembled from various, sometimes-shared services, which may have their roots in legacy systems. In theory, SOA gives IT departments more flexibility and the opportunity to reuse services.

IDS Scheer's core strength is BPM, which is considered complementary to the goals of SOA. BPM tools are used to design, implement and monitor business processes, such as the series of steps and systems involved in hiring new workers or paying suppliers.