PeopleSoft Buys Private Software Firm

Enterprise software bigwig PeopleSoft (PSFT Quote) announced the acquisition of private software company SkillsVillage.

PeopleSoft paid $33 million in stock and cash for the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based SkillsVillage, which makes software to automate the hiring of contract employees. Privately held SkillsVillage brought in $10 million in revenue last year, according to PeopleSoft CEO Craig Conway, who said the acquired company was cash-strapped.

Conway said the acquisition came during the dramatic revaluations of private software companies, which are now being offered up at a fraction of their year-ago prices.

"For a company with $1.1 billion in the bank, $33 million is not bad for another software company," Conway said.