Microsoft and SAP Reveal Failed Merger Talks

Software giants SAP and Microsoft confirmed Monday that they held preliminary merger talks late last year but say they ended without result and there's no plan to resume negotiations. Microsoft and the German company SAP revealed that merger talks had taken place ahead of an antitrust trial over Oracle's bid for Peoplesoft. The trial, which began on Monday, was expected to reveal that Microsoft and SAP had been discussing a merger. SAP is the world's largest maker of software for businesses and sells personnel and accounting applications to large companies. Talks were apparently broken off due to the complexity of any merger transaction and subsequent integration. Microsoft is four times as large as SAP, and is seeking to break into new markets -- but with a current market value of €42 billion, SAP would have been an expensive acquisition, even for Microsoft.