Vianet, the Scottish supplier of remote monitoring and information systems to the vending industry, yesterday said it had been acquired out of administration by Brulines, another vending machine monitoring company, for an undisclosed sum.

Vianet, the Scottish supplier of remote monitoring and information systems to the vending industry, yesterday said it had been acquired out of administration by Brulines, another vending machine monitoring company, for an undisclosed sum.

The move secures 28 jobs at the company's headquarters at Dunfermline, Fife, and also keeps Ian Orrock at Vianet's helm as its chief executive.

Earlier this week, Orrock said the company had been forced into administration after one of its investors pulled out of a loan agreement - but he added that Vianet was also on the verge of striking a deal to sell the company.

Vianet, once one of the Scottish technology sector's bright hopes, had also suspended from trading its shares on the Alternative Investment Market after warning it was running out of cash.

Orrock yesterday confirmed that the suitor had been Brulines, a provider of real-time monitoring systems and data management services for the UK leisure sector, based in Stockton-on-Tees, in north-east England, and that the deal had been struck.

However, under the terms of the acquisition, Vianet will not return to the stock exchange, but will become a Scottish division of Brulines.

"This is a very good deal for Vianet," Orrock told The Herald yesterday. "We have a lot of business and prospects that are good, which I'm certain is what drew the interest of Brulines in the first place."

He added: "This deal also preserves jobs."

Vianet's speciality is its vOpen system, which remotely provides vending-machine operators with stock alerts, as well as up-to-the-minute marketing and sales analysis, surges in demand for items and hygiene levels.

The company ran into trouble after major shareholder Barkley Limited, which held a 7.7% stake in the business, withdrew from a "contractual loan obligation", Orrock said Vianet last month said that Barkley had agreed terms for a £300,000 loan. While £150,000, the first tranche of the loan, had already been drawn, Orrock said the second £150,000 tranche, which was due on November 26, had not materialised.

Brulines, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange, yesterday said the combination of the businesses will help save costs and provide an opportunity to expand in European markets.

Brulines said it expects the acquisition to add to its earnings during the year to March 2010.

Separately yesterday Brulines said it was raising about £4.7m by placing 3.8 million shares with institutional investors at 125p each.

The proceeds of the placing would enable the company to make further acquisitions and strengthen its balance sheet, it said.

Brulines shares climbed 1p to close at 125.5p.