AZO AutoZone Inc

KKR & Co. has agreed to buy business software company Epicor Software Corp. from Apax Partners, the latest in a streak of technology company buyouts.

The buyer paid about $3.3 billion, including the assumption of Epicor's existing debt, according to people familiar with the matter. For Apax, the transaction amounted to a return that is more than four times its investment in the company, one of the people said.

The companies announced the deal Monday morning, following an earlier report by The Wall Street Journal.

Epicor, based in Austin, Texas, provides back-office and sales software to manufacturers, retailers and distributors such as Ace Hardware and AutoZone Inc.

Apax bought Epicor and a peer, Activant Solutions Inc., in 2011 and combined them. Under the private-equity firm's ownership, Epicor took on new management and spun off a division serving apparel and specialty retailers. Apax will continue to own that business, called Aptos Inc.

Apax shopped Epicor in 2014 but opted not to sell, turning down offers of about $3 billion from bidders including CVC Capital Partners, The Wall Street Journal reported at the time.

The tech sector has remained active amid an anemic deal-making environment this year. As of last week, computers-and-electronics companies were the object of five of private-equity firms' top 10 buyout agreements year to date and half the top 10 in 2015, according to Dealogic.

In recent months, technology-focused buyout firm Thoma Bravo LLC agreed to buy data-analysis company Qlik Technologies Inc. for $3 billion, while Vista Equity Partners agreed to acquire marketing software provider Marketo Inc. for $1.8 billion and event-planning software company Cvent Inc. for $1.65 billion.

Write to Matt Jarzemsky at matthew.jarzemsky@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 05, 2016 17:45 ET (21:45 GMT)

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