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Pasadena-based software company Bluebeam Software has been bought for $100 million by German software company Nemetschek Group. Bluebeam makes a PDF-based building blueprint software program that allows users in the construction industry to collaborate on building drawings. Nemetschek Group also makes software for the construction industry and with the purchase of Bluebeam will get 650,000 users and an expanded presence in North America.
Bluebeam’s software helps users collaborate and stay up-to-date with building designs that are constantly being changed and notated by many different parties like architects, construction teams, and building inspectors. When users sync their document updates, edits and comments via Bluebeam, the company claims internal studies show an increase in productivity by 60 percent. Though the majority of Bluebeam’s customers are in the construction industry, the company’s software serves other industries as well. Bluebeam has expressed interest in expanding into other design document heavy industries like oil and gas, utilities, manufacturing and government, industries also served by its new parent company.
Nemetschek Group provides a suite of software for the architecture, engineering, and construction industries, including several computer aided design programs. It has been a publically traded company since 1999 and in 2013 Nemetschek Group had revenues of €185.9 million and an EBITDA of €46.3 million. Nemetschek Group currently operates in 140 different countries and their Bluebeam purchase will give them a much stronger foothold in North America.
"North America is a very important and rapidly growing sales market in which we currently generate about 10 percent of our revenues. As a result of the acquisition of Bluebeam, we are taking a leap forward and considerably strengthening our market position,” said Patrik Heider, CFOO of Nemetschek Group in a statement. “At the same time, in North America, we are gaining qualified employees, a well-known brand with great software and marketing know-how and a large customer base."
Bluebeam has been growing steadily in the past several years. The company said its 2013 revenue was $22.4 million, a 48 percent increase over the year before. That growth accelerated even more in the first half of 2014 with revenues totaling $16.5 million. Its operating profit in the first half of 2014 was $3.2 million. Those growing profits will be a boon for Nemetschek Group. Bluebeam was founded in 2002 and has about 150 employees.
