The head of medical-practice software provider AdvancedMD said Tuesday he expected the company to continue to grow in the wake of its purchase by a New Jersey-based software provider.

Automatic Data Processing Inc. of Roseland, N.J., a publicly traded company with $9 billion in revenue that sells its products in more than 70 countries, said it acquired the South Jordan-based AdvancedMD under undisclosed terms. AdvancedMD has been in Utah since 1999 and has about 200 employees, most of whom are based here.

Eric Morgan, AdvancedMD CEO and president, said the company would remain in Utah and he would become vice president and general manager of the unit now called ADP AdvancedMD.

"By combining with ADP it brings a scale to our business in a period of time that we could never have expected to do on our own," he said. "It allows us to be better positioned to serve our customers and the market and clearly establish ourselves as the leaders in this marketplace."

Morgan said the company has been adding employees over the past few years. "I believe with this change we are going to see that continue and potentially accelerate."

Jan Siegmund, ADP's chief strategy officer, said the purchase allows his company to expand into new markets. ADP is among the world's largest Web-based providers of human resource, benefit administration and payroll processing for businesses. ADP already serves medical practices, some of who also are customers of AdvancedMD, he said.

"We felt it would result in a very attractive combination for our clients," Siegmund said.

ADP has a market capitalization of around $25 billion, with about 550,000 clients for its software and services. AdvancedMD said its products are used by 4,100 medical practices and 300 medical billing companies.

AdvancedMD's former owner, Francisco Partners of San Francisco, was bought out completely, said Siegmund, who declined to provide details of the transaction other than to say it would not affect his company's earnings.

The deal was disclosed after the end of regular stocks trading. ADP's shares Tuesday finished down 61 cents, at $49.39, on the Nasdaq exchange.

On Monday, a Wall Street Journal columnist said there was speculation that ADP may be an acquisition target of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

tharvey@sltrib.com