By Josh Beckerman
MasterCard Inc. agreed to acquire Applied Predictive
Technologies, an analytics software that helps companies gauge
things like pricing, marketing and merchandising, for $600 million,
a deal it says helps differentiate its services to merchants.
APT helps companies tailor investments and attempt to boost
their earnings by using analytics to design, measure and calibrate
marketing and merchandising.
MasterCard said the deal would complement its recent acquisition
of 5One, a London-based retail consulting and analytics firm.
APT's customers include companies across a number of industries
and it has offices around the world.
The deal is expected to close in the second quarter.
MasterCard, which has posted positive results recently as U.S.
consumers continue to recover, is looking to expand into markets
dominated by rival Visa Inc.
Write to Josh Beckerman at josh.beckerman@wsj.com
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