Over 180 Technology M&A Transactions since 1998
50+ Years of Operational Expertise Across Managing Partners

​

Charlotte, NC; March 17, 2008 — DecisionPoint International, a boutique Investment Bank providing merger and acquisition services to middle-market technology clients, announced today that its client, Freeborders® , (“Freeborders” or “Company”), an outsourcing services company, has sold its Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software division to Lawson Software (NASDAQ: LWSN, “Lawson”). With this acquisition, Lawson will deepen its enterprise software offerings for companies in the fashion industry. Freeborders will retain its existing technology outsourcing services, which are not included in Lawson’s acquisition. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The best-of-breed PLM solution developed by Freeborders is well-tested and proven in the fashion industry. The company serves 79 PLM customers in the U.S., Europe and Asia. PLM helps fashion manufacturing companies more quickly source the materials they need to move a product from design to production. By adding PLM capabilities to its portfolio of enterprise software offerings, Lawson can now help companies establish processes that will enable them to cut the lead time from product concept to production to actual delivery to the retail store shelf. 

Lawson Fashion PLM will initially be available as a standalone product and Lawson will determine how the product fits with its core Lawson M3 Enterprise Management System for the fashion industry. “The Freeborders solution fills a gap we had in meeting our fashion customers’ overall supply chain needs,” said Bob McKee, industry strategy director, Fashion, for Lawson. “We now have a proven PLM solution that our customers can add easily and can work alongside our global fashion solutions.”

Lawson and Freeborders currently serve several joint customers around the globe, including Hong Kong-based TAL Group. TAL is the leading manufacturer of men’s and women’s garments for the world’s leading brands. “This is good news for customers of Freeborders and Lawson,” noted Dr. Harry Lee, CEO of TAL Group. “It means companies like ours can look to one vendor for our enterprise software and product lifecycle management needs. It also means we will have the power of Lawson focused on the PLM product, given the strategic importance of the fashion industry to Lawson.”

​

About Freeborders

​

Freeborders provides information technology solutions and outsourcing services from China. The company offers application outsourcing, business process, consulting and systems integration, custom application development, application maintenance and integration, application specialties and package implementation, Web services, and automated testing services. It offers its services in the areas of retail/consumer goods, financial services, software and technology, manufacturing and transportation, logistics, and hospitality industries in North America and Europe. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California with an additional office in Guangzhou. For further information, visit www.freeborders.com.

​

About Lawson 

​

Lawson Software provides software and service solutions to 4,000 customers in manufacturing, distribution, maintenance and service sector industries across 40 countries. Lawson’s solutions include Enterprise Performance Management, Supply Chain Management, Enterprise Resource Planning, Customer Relationship Management, Manufacturing Resource Planning, Enterprise Asset Management and industry-tailored applications. Lawson solutions assist customers in simplifying their businesses or organizations by helping them streamline processes, reduce costs and enhance business or operational performance. Lawson is headquartered in St. Paul, Minn., and has offices around the world. For further information, visit www.lawson.com.

 

About DecisionPoint

 

DecisionPoint is a global leader in M&A advisory services for middle-market technology companies in the services, software, and communication sectors. For additional information on DecisionPoint, visit www.DecisionPointINT.com.

 

For further information, contact: Doug Ellis, Managing Partner; (704) 916-9070; DEllis@DecisionPointInt.com