Eastern Firm to Buy Meridian Software Systems : Computers: Verdix Corp. of Virginia plans to acquire the Irvine company in a stock swap worth about $6 million.

A Virginia software-engineering company said Tuesday that it has agreed to acquire Meridian Software Systems here in a stock swap valued at about $6 million.

Meridian makes products for software developers working with the Ada computer-programming language used by the U.S. Department of Defense. The company, which employs 29 people, will keep its headquarters in Irvine and operate as a subsidiary of Verdix Corp., based in Chantilly, Va.

Under terms of the deal, Verdix will distribute about 15% of its common stock--valued by the company at roughly $6 million--to Meridian shareholders. The deal is subject to approval of shareholders of both companies and other conditions.

Meridian President Stowe Boyd said the merger was attractive because the two companies’ products complement each other in the $500-million market for Ada software products.

Privately held Meridian sells compilers--a computer program that translates a high-level programming language into language that a computer can understand--and custom software services to the aerospace industry and academic and research institutes.

Meridian’s 15,000 customers include TRW Inc. and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Boyd said. Those customers write their applications in the Ada software language because it has features that make it easier for computers to perform complex tasks, such as controlling a guided missile.

Verdix competes with Meridian, although most of its sales are to developers whose products are designed for large central office computers or workstations. By contrast, Meridian’s products are mostly used by developers whose products run on personal computers.

Verdix President Ralph Alexander said the two companies have a strong offering of products for computer-aided software engineering, or software tools that help automate the software design process.

Meridian reported earnings of $100,000 on sales of $2.7 million for its fiscal year ended March 31, 1991. Verdix earned $1 million on sales of $13.3 million for the same period.