Ontario firm to acquire CTI Group for $22.5 million

A Canadian software firm has signed an agreement to acquire CTI Group Holdings Inc., one of the smallest publicly traded companies based in Indianapolis.

Markham, Ontario-based Enghouse Systems Ltd. announced Monday that it would spend about $22.5 million to purchase CTI Group, which sells software for enterprise networks and telecommunications services providers.

The agreement has been approved by the board of directors for both firms, the companies said. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2016.

Enghouse said it would buy CTI’s outstanding shares for 61 cents each. CTI shares rose from 35 cents to 60 cents Monday after the announcement.

CTI will operate as a subsidiary of Enghouse after the merger.

The companies could not be reached for comment on the deal.

CTI was founded in Indianapolis in 1989 as Centillion Data Systems. It became a public company known as CTI in 2000 when Centillion merged with Celltech Information Systems Inc. of Houston.

The company ranked 23^rd on IBJ’s latest list of largest Indianapolis-area public companies, based on 2014 revenue of $18.3 million. It reported a profit of $2.2 million in 2014.

The company has about 115 employees overall at offices in Indianapolis, London and Blackburn, United Kingdom. It generates about two-thirds of its revenue from its UK operations. Its local office is at 333 N. Alabama St.

Enghouse, which sells enterprise software, had revenue of $220 million and a profit of nearly $30 million in 2014. Its shares were down 40 cents Wednesday morning, to $58.72 each.