May 19, 2012
Enterprise wars: Business software giant SAP snaps up Sybase for $5.25 billion
Business software provider SAP has upped the ante in enterprise wars by acquiring database maker Sybase for $5.25 billion, the New York Times reported. As a result, SAP now has Oracle, but also IBM and Motorola, in its sight. The company will swallow Sybase's $400 million debt and pay $65 a share for Sybase, a 56 percent premium.
The synergistic acquisition, expected to close in the third quarter, will propel the two companies into new markets, with a strong focus on mobility. Dublin, California-based Sybase's expertise includes business software for smartphones and systems that route text messages. The company is less successful in the database market, however. Last year revenues topped out at $800 million, earning Sybase a modest three percent market share, significantly less than Oracle, IBM, and Microsoft which took a 43 percent, 24 percent, and 19 percent market share, respectively.
Walldorf, Germany-based SAP has a strong offering of enterprise resource planning applications designed for desktop-oriented businesses and organizations, including software that handles sales, payroll, and inventory tracking. The deal bought SAP a ticket for the future that's already shaping up, the one in which an increasing number of business customers sign up for mobile solutions to get things done, often at the expense of desktop.
The Sybase acquisition also brought SAP the Sybase 365, a proven mobile infrastructure and analytics that it lacked. According to SAP's co-CEO Bill McDermott, the deal will "literally connect the shop floor to the corner office." Analysts quoted by the paper believe SAP won't be able to offer a combined software solution that integrates with Sybase's database for another twelve months.
The synergistic acquisition, expected to close in the third quarter, will propel the two companies into new markets, with a strong focus on mobility. Dublin, California-based Sybase's expertise includes business software for smartphones and systems that route text messages. The company is less successful in the database market, however. Last year revenues topped out at $800 million, earning Sybase a modest three percent market share, significantly less than Oracle, IBM, and Microsoft which took a 43 percent, 24 percent, and 19 percent market share, respectively.
Walldorf, Germany-based SAP has a strong offering of enterprise resource planning applications designed for desktop-oriented businesses and organizations, including software that handles sales, payroll, and inventory tracking. The deal bought SAP a ticket for the future that's already shaping up, the one in which an increasing number of business customers sign up for mobile solutions to get things done, often at the expense of desktop.
The Sybase acquisition also brought SAP the Sybase 365, a proven mobile infrastructure and analytics that it lacked. According to SAP's co-CEO Bill McDermott, the deal will "literally connect the shop floor to the corner office." Analysts quoted by the paper believe SAP won't be able to offer a combined software solution that integrates with Sybase's database for another twelve months.