Friday Market Movers (ASUR, XRTX, BOOT)

Asure Software traded up about 12% early on Friday. On July 5, the company announced that it had acquired PeopleCube, which is a company that provides workplace management solutions. On July 3, Asure entered into a stock purchase agreement with PeopleCube for a combination of cash and stocks. The purchase included $9.8 million in cash, a $3 million two-year sellers note, and issuance of 255,000 shares of common stock. Asure also expects its second quarter results to exceed expectations and raised its guidance for the third and four quarter. Pat Goepel, Asure's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "We are excited to integrate best practices of the PeopleCube product line to the Asure solution set. The enterprise service model will greatly improve our ability to bring solutions to companies of all sizes in a much larger marketplace."

Xyratex traded up about 13% on Friday after announcing profits for second quarter, fiscal year 2012. For the second quarter, GAAP net income was $7 million compared to a net loss of $4.6 million in the same period last year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.075 per share and resumed its share repurchase program. Steve Barber, CEO of Xyratex, stated, “Over the next 18 months we have a number of new opportunities that I believe will be positive for the company. We will continue to focus on new growth opportunities while also managing our costs and investments. With a strong balance sheet, I believe we are well positioned to capitalize on these opportunities through the end of the year and beyond.”

LaCrosse Footwear traded up about 81% on Friday after it announced that Japanese shoemaker, ABC Mart, stated that it will buy the company for $20 a share, or $138 million in a friendly takeover. This purchase represents a premium of 82% over LaCrosse Footwear's average closing price over the last 30 days. Richard Rosenthal, Chairman of the LaCrosse Footwear Board of Directors, noted, “ABC-MART has been a valued customer of our iconic American-made products for many years. It recognizes the value of our authentic, premium brands and sees the opportunity for our continued growth and success in partnership with ABC-MART. We are very pleased to recommend this transaction to LaCrosse Footwear shareholders as the next chapter in our company's rich history.”