SAP is buying business intelligence specialistBusiness Objectsfor
£3.42bn.
The takeover has been approved by the Business Objects board.
Despite Business Objects continuing to trade as a standalone
company after the acquisition,
enterprise resource planning firm SAP said the deal would lead
to combined solutions that would benefit both sets of
customers.
"We are highly committed to the next generation of applications
serving business users," said Henning Kagermann, CEO at SAP. "The
combination of SAP and Business Objects in their respective domains
will benefit customers, prospects, partners, employees and
shareholders."
Bernard Liautaud, chairman and founder of Paris-headquartered
Business Objects, said, "The combination of Business Objects and
SAP means that we can truly amplify the reach of
business intelligence."
The acquisition is expected to be completed within the first
quarter of next year. Neither company expects to see any major
restructuring as a result of the deal, although they expect some
synergy savings.
When the transaction is complete, John Schwarz will continue as
the CEO of the Business Objects entity and is expected to become a
member of the SAP executive board. Bernard Liautaud is expected to
join the SAP Supervisory board.
