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13 May 2010 ,
Written by Dhruv Tanwar
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SAP and Sybase, Inc., the Dublin, California based business software company have announced that SAP’s subsidiary, SAP America, Inc., has inked a deal to acquire Sybase, Inc. in a transaction that will bring the two information technology (IT) leaders together to help companies to become better-run “unwired enterprises.”
Under the terms and conditions of the merger agreement, SAP America, Inc., will make an all cash tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of Sybase common stock at $65.00 per share, representing an enterprise value of approximately $5.8 billion.
SAP said the acquisition will help custoemrs to better harness today’s explosion of data and deliver information and insight in real time to business consumers wherever they work so they can make faster, more informed decisions. It said companies would now be able to benefit from greater productivity, speed and agility to help their businesses grow.
The per share purchase price represents a 44% premium over the three-month average stock price of Sybase. The transaction will be funded from SAP’s cash on hand and a €2.75 billion loan facility arranged and underwritten by Barclays Capital and Deutsche Bank. SAP's statement said that the Sybase board of directors has unanimously approved the transaction.
SAP said that both companies would benefit from synergies across product lines and markets, with SAP accelerating its reach of solutions across mobile platforms and drivign forward the realization of its in-memory computing vision. This will drive higher user adoption of SAP software and unlock significant business value out of existing customer investments, the company said.
For Sybase, SAP's in-memory technology will provide the opportunity for dramatic performance improvements to its analytic processing capabilities. Sybase will also be able to bring its complex event processing and analytics expertise, which was built in the financial sector, to customers in other industries, markets and product areas in which SAP has a complementary, strong presence. Finally, Sybase’s core database business will be enhanced by SAP in-memory technology to deliver integrated transactional and analytical capabilities. At the same time, SAP reinforced its dedication to customer choice by stating that it will continue its commitment to supporting leading database vendors.
The synergies between the two companies will also expand opportunities for the SAP and Sybase ecosystems. Software and implementation partners can capture new opportunities by innovating on Sybase’s market-leading mobile platform, which will make it easier to create, deliver and securely manage mobile enterprise applications across major device types.
The two companies announced that Sybase will operate as a standalone unit under the name “Sybase, an SAP Company.” Sybase’s management team will continue to run the business. The SAP Executive Board plans to propose to the Supervisory Board to appoint the Chairman and CEO of Sybase to SAP’s Executive Board.
Sybase stock jumped around 35% during trading hours, and reports said it jumped another 15% in after hours on Wednesday following SAP's offer to buy the company. |