The acquisition of SunGard Data last week could lead to the
software and disaster recovery specialist being broken up, experts
have warned.
The £6bn deal was the largest ever private buy-out of a technology
firm, and analysts have predicted that the new owners, a consortium
including Silver Lake Partners, Bain Capital, Blackstone Group and
Texas Pacific, will look to boost revenues and sell parts of the
business.
Ovum analyst Samad Masood said it was likely the new owners would
split the firm into separate businesses serving the disaster
recovery and software markets.
Margaret Smith, chief executive of IT directors group CIO Connect,
said she believed the disaster recovery side of SunGard's business
was profitable, but its other technology made less money. "Users
should ask how sustainable these technologies are. They might have
to be prepared for other take-overs and mergers."