ACCOUNTING software group Sage yesterday agreed to buy a US payment processing company for about £184m.

The Newcastle company, which is listed in the FTSE 100 Index, said the addition of Verus Financial Management would benefit existing customers and attract new clients.

Verus, based in Nashville, Tennessee, processes credit cards and cheques for 101,000 small and medium-sized business (SMEs), such as restaurants, petrol stations and property managers, and makes money from service fees linked to transactions.

The company, which is owned by Financial Technology Ventures, made underlying operating profits of £12m last year - a threefold increase on 2004 - on revenues of £36m.

Sage chief executive Paul Walker said: "Acquiring Verus expands our business management solutions into a new and growing market, where SMEs are showing clear demand for more automation of their business processes."

He said the new payment services would "further broaden the appeal of Sage solutions beyond pure accounting".

Sage - the last surviving Footsie technology stock - employs about 8,000 people worldwide, including 1,850 staff in the UK.

It sells accountancy software and other services to SMEs and has been on the acquisition trail after buying companies including Timberline, which sells software to the US construction and property sectors.

Yesterday's deal was Sage's biggest since buying US rival Interact, in 2001.

The company said it was interested in further acquisitions in areas including Italy, Scandinavia and the Far East.