Descartes to acquire Visual Compliance for $250mn

Descartes Systems Group, an on-demand software-as-a-service provider to logistics-centric organizations based in Waterloo, Ontario, announced today plans to acquire customs, trade and fiscal compliance processes software company Visual Compliance for the sum of US$250mn.

The addition of Visual Compliance’s software solutions will aid Descartes in the avoidance of denied/restricted party screening and export licensing violations. “Denied/restricted party screening is the review of people, goods, services and/or commodities against comprehensive lists published by governments and international organizations identifying people, organizations and countries with whom it is illegal or restricted to transact business. In the international trade context, compliance with these sanction lists is actively enforced by governments around the world, with consequences including large fines, revocation of export privileges and/or criminal prosecution.”

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“The penalties for doing business with sanctioned parties can be far reaching and severe,” said Ken Wood, EVP Product Management at Descartes. “By adding Visual Compliance’s solutions and domain expertise to our existing Descartes MK Data denied parties screening business and Global Logistics Network, we’re in an even stronger position to help our customers navigate the trade compliance landscape while managing the full lifecycle of their shipments.”

“Trade compliance is a critical issue for our Global Logistics Network customers and our United by Design partners. This is especially so in the current environment where trade agreements are being re-negotiated, tariffs and duties are changing at a rapid pace, and sanctions on restricted or denied parties are being increasingly enforced,” said Edward J. Ryan, Descartes’ CEO. “We’ve had tremendous historical success in combining with higher-margin trade data content businesses, like Visual Compliance, to help our partners and customers better manage the increasing complexities of international trade. We’re very excited to add Visual Compliance to the Global Logistics Network and further strengthen the value we can bring to our customers and partners.”