Delft based software company Exact has agreed to be taken over by British private equity house Apax in a deal valuing the Dutch company at €730m.

Apax has offered €32 a share for Exact, a premium of 27% on the company’s closing price on July 10, when the British company made its interest known. Exact has been listed on the midcap index in Amsterdam since 1999.

Both Exact’s management and supervisory boards have backed the bid, as do its founders and major shareholders. They control some 60% of the shares outstanding.

Founders Arco van Nieuwland and Edouard Hagens set up the company along with several other students in a garage in 1984.