Technology Evaluation Centers: PROS’ Acquisition Streak Signals Pricing Market Consolidation

December 18, 2013-

By: Predrag Jakovljevic

After the recent acquisition of Cameleon Software, PROS Inc., a sales big data software company, recently announced itsacquisition of SignalDemand, Inc., a privately held software company headquartered in San Francisco. Under the terms of the all-cash transaction, PROS will pay $13.5 (USD) million to acquire SignalDemand.

Through its software as a service (SaaS)-based solutions, SignalDemand provides predictive and prescriptive analytics and optimization for resource-based and commodity-driven businesses, delivering real-time recommendations to help companies make price and mix decisions across products, customers, and channels. Companies such as BJs, ConAgra Mills, Fonterra (the largest milk producer and exporter in the world), Hormel, JBS (the world’s largest animal protein processor), Sobeys, and Teys Brothers use SignalDemand for financial performance improvement.

Both PROS and SignalDemand have strong beliefs and experience in using data science to unlock buying patterns and preferences within transaction data, which can reveal knowledge such as which opportunities are most likely to close, which offers are most likely to sell, and which prices are most likely to win. PROS offers big data solutions to optimize sales, pricing, quoting, rebates, and revenue management. SignalDemand gives PROS new untapped markets, including agri-business, food, and mill products, and a presence in the Bay Area.

With this merger, PROS becomes even more second to none in the pricing management and optimization software market. The company has completed over 600 implementations of its solutions in more than 50 countries. Similar to PROS, SignalDemand partners with leading companies such as IBM and SAP to serve companies in its target industries (both SignalDemand and formerDemandTec, now part of IBM, were founded by Mike Neal). Contrary to Cameleon Software being kept as an autonomous division and brand, SignalDemand’s brand will likely be subsumed by PROS over time.