Siebel Systems is a multinational software provider based in California with a turnover in 2003 of $1.35 billion.

Founded in 1993, the Nasdaq-quoted multinational employs 5,000 people and has alliances and partnerships with 290 other businesses.

It was Siebel's partnership with Eontec that led to both companies considering the benefits of working more closely together, a spokesman for Siebel said yesterday.

Its founder, chairman and chief executive officer, Mr Thomas M. Siebel, is one of the most highly regarded business figures in the US, particularly in the technology sector.

The company's website says that Siebel is "the world's leading provider of customer relationship management (CRM) solutions and it is a leading provider of applications for business intelligence and standards-based integration."

With the acquisition of Eontec, Siebel plans to expand its software solutions for banking to include branch teller and Internet banking systems, creating "the only retail banking solution that enables banks to increase branch profitability using an integrated suite of financial transaction, marketing, sales, service, and business intelligence capabilities.

"The solution will also offer a standards-based, service-oriented architecture to handle a wide range of customer interactions through multiple channels, including the branch, call centre, internet, and ATM," the company said yesterday.