Lawson Software yesterday (29-06-2011) announced that the stockholders voted to approve the proposed merger with GGC Software Holdings, Inc., an affiliate of Golden Gate Capital and Infor.

Infor is the result of 29 acquisitions executed over the last 10 years.  The most prominent being SSA Global (Baan, Epiphany and 9 other acquisitions). Lawson, a Minneapolis US based ERP software company acquired Swedish Intentia (Movex) in 2006.The ERP software industry is far from consolidated.  The international players are in a consolidation process. However, there are numerous local players in each country, which are excellent acquisition targets also.

The ERP software market has its’ own idiosyncrasies.  The lifetime of an ERP system is around 7 years and it is very difficult to justify a replacement midway unless some fundamental business changes demands the need for new functionality. The customers’ relationship to the ERP vendor (or the staff serving the customer) is normally very strong as the learning curve is steep and long.

Acquisitions may be the only option for an ambitious player who wants to gain market share fast.