Briefs

SAN JOSE and PALO ALTO, Calif. and PARIS, France - July 18, 2003 -- Business Objects, and Crystal Decisions, Inc. today announced a definitive agreement under which Business Objects will acquire privately-held Crystal Decisions, the fastest-growing vendor in the business intelligence (BI) market, and the leading provider of enterprise reporting software.

Under the terms of the agreement, Business Objects will issue approximately 26.5 million shares of common stock in respect of outstanding Crystal Decisions common shares and stock options, which will represent approximately 29 percent of the combined company's shares. In addition, Crystal Decisions stockholders will receive an aggregate of $300 million in cash. Based on the closing price of Business Objects' stock on July 17, 2003 the transaction is valued at an aggregate purchase price of approximately $820 million.

Crystal Decisions leads the enterprise reporting segment of the BI market. The company is the fastest-growing vendor in the BI market, having achieved 30% annual growth in 2002. For the twelve months ended March 2003, Crystal Decisions' revenue was $270 million, with an operating margin of 14%.

Here is the full story from Business Objects.