Cision has acquired UK rival Gorkana for more than $300M (£200M), following weeks of speculation and the PR software giant's own merger with Vocus under private equity firm GTCR.

Cision chief Peter Granat called the move the "next step forward" to making the company a global leader in PR software.

Gorkana will keep its name and portal as services from Cision and the former Vocus are integrated into its suite.

Cision earlier this month revealed that its name would survive the merger with Vocus, which created a 1,500-staffer PR services juggernaut.

London-based Gorkana was owned by British private equity firm Exponent.