SAP to Acquire Business Objects in Friendly Takeover

Business Intelligence Software - SAP to Acquire Business Objects in Friendly Takeover

WALLDORF, Germany & PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--SAP AG (NYSE:SAP) and Business Objects S.A. (Nasdaq:BOBJ) (Euronext Paris ISIN code: FR0004026250 – BOB) today announced that the companies have reached an agreement that will bring together two of the information technology industry’s leaders, resulting in an unmatched offering for Business Users, enabling timely and accurate decision-making. Under the terms and conditions of the tender offer agreement, SAP will make a cash offer of € 42.00 per ordinary share and for American Depositary Shares (ADS) at the US$ equivalent based on the EUR/US$ exchange rate as of the settlement of the tender offers. The transaction volume taking into account the transaction costs will be slightly above €4.8 billion. The Business Objects board of directors has approved the tender offer agreement between the two companies and anticipates recommending the offer to its shareholders subject to fulfillment of certain regulatory requirements.

Together, SAP and Business Objects intend to offer high-value solutions for process- and business-oriented professionals. The solutions will be designed to enable companies to strengthen decision processes, increase customer value and create sustainable competitive advantage through real-time, multi-dimensional business intelligence. SAP and Business Objects believe that customers will gain significant business benefits through the combination of new, innovative offerings of enterprise-wide business intelligence solutions along with embedded analytics in transactional applications. Additionally, the joint partner ecosystems will be fueled by the industry’s most powerful business process platform providing customers with the best enterprise information management platform available for SAP and non-SAP environments.

SAP is the world’s leading provider of business software with more than 41,200 customers in more than 120 countries running SAP applications—from distinct solutions addressing the needs of small and midsize enterprises to suite offerings for global organizations. A key component of SAP’s growth strategy is to significantly increase its revenues from new products including addressing the growing demands of Business Users.

“We are highly committed to the next generation of applications serving Business Users,” said Henning Kagermann, CEO of SAP AG. “The combination of SAP and Business Objects in their respective domains will benefit customers, prospects, partners, employees and shareholders. At SAP, we are excited about the prospect of having Business Objects join the SAP Group.”

“The acquisition of Business Objects is in keeping with SAP’s stated strategy to double our addressable market by 2010 as announced in 2005,” said Kagermann. “SAP will accelerate its growth in the Business User segment, while complementing the company’s successful organic growth strategy. With the delivery of the first business process platform; the rapid adoption of our enterprise SOA platform, SAP NetWeaver; and the successful launch of the first complete on-demand business solution for midsized companies, SAP Business ByDesign, SAP can now take the opportunity to focus on the industry’s next high-growth opportunity, by accelerating and enhancing our efforts for the Business User category,” Kagermann, said.

Headquartered in Paris, France Business Objects is widely recognized as the pioneer of the business intelligence (BI) software category. Today, Business Objects is the world’s leading BI software company with solutions spanning the information discovery and delivery, information management, analysis and performance management categories for more than 44,000 customers around the globe.

“Business Objects helps companies transform the way they work through the use of intelligent information,” said Bernard Liautaud, Chairman and Founder of Business Objects. “The combination of Business Objects and SAP means that we can truly amplify the reach of Business Intelligence – from the C-suite to Main Street. John Schwarz and I are excited to see the innovation and hard work of our employees and partners validated and soon extended by the portfolio, domain expertise and presence of SAP.”

Source: For more information, please visit http://www.businessobjects.com/news/press_release.asp?id=20071007_005046