Mercury Buying Kintana for $225MMercury Buying Kintana for $225M

Mercury Interactive Corp. would gain IT-governance software with its proposed buyout of Kintana Inc. for $225 million.

Mercury has built a strong business in application delivery and management, including tools for software-quality testing. Last year, the company posted a $65.2 million profit on revenue of $400 million. With Kintana, it would get software that helps companies manage IT projects and the processes and workforces associated with them. Wall Street reacted favorably to the plan, pushing Mercury's stock up $1.71 on Tuesday, to close at $42.62.

The combination would make the company a leader in products designed to help execs optimize business technology, said Amnon Landan, Mercury's chairman, CEO, and president.

Last week, Kintana upgraded its product line, introducing IT Governance Suite 5. Among the new apps is Financial Manager for managing cost metrics and budgets for IT projects, and Resource Manager, an app for helping companies manage information on IT worker skills and planning. Kintana customers include GMAC Residential Capital Group and Xcel Energy. Kintana, which is privately held, says it posted revenue of nearly $45 million last year.