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Cloud capture

May 23, 2012

German software producer SAP has announced it hopes to acquire a US heavyweight in cloud computing and trading, Ariba. It's the second big move within months to become a leader in cloud-based business.

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Logo of SAP software giant
Image: picture-alliance/dpa

Europe's biggest software company, SAP of Germany, told an annual shareholders' conference on Wednesday that it had made an offer to take over cloud-based trading network Ariba from the United States.

The German software giant said it was willing to pay $4.3 billion (3.38 billion euros) for the takeover. The transaction would represent a 20-percent premium on Ariba's closing price on Monday. It's expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year, pending approval by Ariba shareholders and government regulators.

The US company is based in California's Silicon Valley and uses cloud-based software solutions to help firms cooperate with partners around the globe. Last year, Ariba posted $444 million in revenues, a 40-percent rise in annual sales.

Awareness anything but clouded

"The addition of Ariba will create the business network of the future, deliver immediate value to our customers and provide another solid engine for driving SAP's growth in the cloud," SAP's co-chief executives Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe said in a statement in Mannheim on Wednesday.

The takeover bid represents SAP's second big move towards cloud-based growth this year. In February the company acquired Success Factors for 2.5 billion euros.

SAP leaders do not rule out a counter-offer from main rival Oracle or another firm active in the field. "You never know, but I think we've come up with a fair price," Bill McDermott maintained.

hg/mll (Reuters, dapd, dpa)