Acquisitions continue in the business and accounting marketplace, with Sage and SSL shopping for software suppliers. US enterprise software supplier SSA recently emerged as a consolidator, when it bought three software suppliers in the space of a week. It started with Ironside Technologies, a developer of e-commerce solutions for the distribution and manufacturing markets, followed by the purchase of ERP suppliers Baan (from Invensys), then Elevon (formerly Walker). Meanwhile, the ERP giants Oracle and PeopleSoft continue their $5bn (3.14bn) bicker.

Sage has also been shopping for software. Its US subsidiary Best Software recently announced it is to acquire Timberline, a US specialist in software for the construction and real estate industries; subject to regulatory clearance, the deal should be completed by the end of September. Earlier this year, Sage acquired UK manufacturing software specialist Promis.