mocoNews - Antenna Software Quietly Buys Mobile Enterprise Software Company Dexterra

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Tricia Duryee

mocoNews.net
Monday, June 15, 2009; 3:59 PM

Jersey City, N.J.-based Antenna Software has acquired Dexterra, which together will offer a variety of devices and mobile applications for the mobile enterprise market.

Bothell, Wash.-based Dexterra, which had raised $106 million in venture capital, had been rumored to be on the path to an initial public offering. The company was founded in 2002 by Rob Loughan, who formerly helped start Octane Software, which was acquired by San Mateo, Calif.-based E.piphany for a jaw-dropping $3.2 billion in stock in May 2000. Loughan left Dexterra last summer.

However, the sale sounded like anything but a positive exit. "A knowledgeable source" said that Dexterra was selling to Antenna for as little as $18 million, according to TechFlash, which added that reportedly "no one is making money off of this deal." Dexterra had raised $21.5 million as recently as October 2008 from investors including New Enterprise Associates, Canaan Partners, Intel (NSDQ: INTC) Capital, Mesirow Financial, Motorola (NYSE: MOT) Ventures and Sigma Partners.

Antenna said in a press release that Dexterra has extensive operations throughout the America, Europe and Asia Pacific, and supports a network of partners, including Accenture, ErgoGroup, Mincom and IBM. It has a long list of blue chip customers, including ADP, Virgin Media (NSDQ: VMED) and Sylvania. By acquiring Dexterra, Antenna said it hopes to gain a stronger global presence, and position the company for growth. Dexterra focused on selling through carriers and resellers, while Antenna provided a hosted approach to providing its services. Antenna said it will continue to support Dexterra's products and customers.