Briefs

The two business-intelligence powerhouses will link up in a pact which will effectively double SAP's customer reach.

By Alexander Wolfe, InformationWeek, October 7, 2007

In an unusual Sunday software hook-up, business-intelligence powerhouse SAP(SAP) said it had reached an agreement to acquire Business Objects SA in a friendly takeover worth some $6.8 billion.

SAP is making a cash offer of 42 Euros per share for Business Objects, which was founded in France in 1990 and currently maintains a headquarters in Paris and a U.S. base in San Jose, Calif. In its press release, SAP said that the cost of outstanding shares, along with transaction costs, added up to slightly more than 4.8-billion Euros. At current exchange rates, that translates to $6.78 billion.

According to Business Objects' Web site, the global BI specialist has 43,000 customers. Thus, the acquisition will immediately vault SAP's user roles to 78,000.

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