Descartes signs agreement to acquire Visual Compliance

The roughly U.S. $250 million purchase of the Toronto-based business is expected to close in February.    Descartes System Group announced Monday it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire the businesses run by the Management Systems Resources Inc. group of companies operating under the names Visual Compliance, eCustoms and MSR.
   Descartes agreed to purchase the businesses — known collectively as Visual Compliance — for approximately CAD $330 million, which is about U.S. $250 million. The transaction is expected to close in February.
   Visual Compliance, primarily based in Toronto, provides software solutions and services to automate customs, trade and fiscal compliance processes with a focus on denied and restricted party screening processes and export licensing.
   Denied and restricted party screening is the review of people, goods, services and commodities against comprehensive lists of those with whom it is illegal or restricted to transact business. 
   “The penalties for doing business with sanctioned parties can be far reaching and severe,” said Ken Wood, Descartes’ executive vice president of product management. “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.”