• The Four Hundred
  • Subscribe
  • Media Kit
  • Contributors
  • About Us
  • Contact
Menu
  • The Four Hundred
  • Subscribe
  • Media Kit
  • Contributors
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Silly Rumor Says Oracle Wants to Buy SAP

    February 5, 2007 Timothy Prickett Morgan

    Sometimes, the IT press reports rumors not because we think the rumor will pan out, but because reporting on the rumor is fun. And so it is with the most recent rumor that Oracle is considering a bid to acquire application software rival SAP for 38.5 euros per share.

    The rumor, which appears to have come out of the London stock market, was passed around the blogosphere last week and was reported in the London-based IT trade magazine, Computer Business Review.

    That rumored acquisition offer by Oracle works out to about $50 a share at the current exchange rates, and it is not much of a premium compared to the price that SAP’s ADRs are trading at on the New York Stock Exchange. Prior to the rumor, the shares were at around $49, they shot up to $50 as people considered the rumor, and then fell promptly to around $46. Net-net, the rumor might have helped the German stock market, the DAX, get a boost for a day, but it seemed to have ended up hurting SAP more in the longer run of a week once everyone figured out that such an acquisition would be nearly impossible.

    For one thing, SAP is worth more than $15.4 billion, which this rumored Oracle takeover deal values SAP at. As of Friday, SAP had a market capitalization of $14.2 billion, and that is with the market having already absorbed SAP’s plans to spend money over the next two years to attack the midrange with its future “A1S” product line, due this quarter. It is hard to say what premium SAP could fetch, but it is a lot higher than what this supposed Oracle bid is offering. (Oracle low-balled the PeopleSoft acquisition, too, at least initially.)

    For another thing, if Oracle bought PeopleSoft, it would have a lock on the market for enterprise-class ERP suites, leaving only Infor, Microsoft, and Sage Software as the next largest competitors in the ERP software space. It is hard to imagine antitrust authorities on both sides of the Atlantic agreeing to such a union. Even if Oracle agreed to split itself into two companies–one that does database and middleware software, another that does applications–it would be hard to see how the antitrust authorities in the United States and Europe would go for the deal. That application software company would still dominate the enterprise ERP market.

    It is much easier to imagine IBM, Microsoft, or Hewlett-Packard acquiring SAP. In fact, it is easier to imagine Siemens, General Electric, Google, or a small band of alien private equity investors from Jupiter’s most interesting moon, Io, doing a deal to buy SAP.

    SAP naturally belongs in IBM’s Software Group, being the creation of ex-IBMers, having such an enterprise focus, and needing so much services to be implemented. Why SAP and IBM don’t just get on with it is the real mystery.

    RELATED STORY

    SAP to Chase the SMB Market–Again



                         Post this story to del.icio.us
                   Post this story to Digg
        Post this story to Slashdot

    Share this:

    • Reddit
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Email

    Tags: Tags: mtfh_rc, Volume 16, Number 5 -- February 5, 2007

    Sponsored by
    WorksRight Software

    Do you need area code information?
    Do you need ZIP Code information?
    Do you need ZIP+4 information?
    Do you need city name information?
    Do you need county information?
    Do you need a nearest dealer locator system?

    We can HELP! We have affordable AS/400 software and data to do all of the above. Whether you need a simple city name retrieval system or a sophisticated CASS postal coding system, we have it for you!

    The ZIP/CITY system is based on 5-digit ZIP Codes. You can retrieve city names, state names, county names, area codes, time zones, latitude, longitude, and more just by knowing the ZIP Code. We supply information on all the latest area code changes. A nearest dealer locator function is also included. ZIP/CITY includes software, data, monthly updates, and unlimited support. The cost is $495 per year.

    PER/ZIP4 is a sophisticated CASS certified postal coding system for assigning ZIP Codes, ZIP+4, carrier route, and delivery point codes. PER/ZIP4 also provides county names and FIPS codes. PER/ZIP4 can be used interactively, in batch, and with callable programs. PER/ZIP4 includes software, data, monthly updates, and unlimited support. The cost is $3,900 for the first year, and $1,950 for renewal.

    Just call us and we’ll arrange for 30 days FREE use of either ZIP/CITY or PER/ZIP4.

    WorksRight Software, Inc.
    Phone: 601-856-8337
    Fax: 601-856-9432
    Email: software@worksright.com
    Website: www.worksright.com

    Share this:

    • Reddit
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Email

    Idiom Translates Globalization Software into Strong Growth RevSoft Pushes ‘Lights On’ Approach to Systems Automation

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

TFH Volume: 16 Issue: 5

This Issue Sponsored By

    Table of Contents

    • Calling All System i5 Innovators
    • Faster i5 595 Rumored to Be Imminent
    • System i5 GM Shearer Chats with iSociety Members
    • IBM Moves OS/400 V5R3 Towards the Door, Rejiggers i5 Prices
    • Avnet’s Second Fiscal Quarter Propped Up By EMEA Sales
    • Zend Upgrades Commercial Add-Ons for Its PHP Engine
    • Sales Up 16 Percent in Q1 as Kronos Launches Wares for Manufacturers
    • As I See It: The Elusive Leader
    • SafeData, Strategic Systems Form Partnership
    • Calling All System i5 Innovators

    Content archive

    • The Four Hundred
    • Four Hundred Stuff
    • Four Hundred Guru

    Recent Posts

    • IBM i Has a Future ‘If Kept Up To Date,’ IDC Says
    • When You Need Us, We Are Ready To Do Grunt Work
    • Generative AI: Coming to an ERP Near You
    • Four Hundred Monitor, March 22
    • IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 25, Number 12
    • Unattended IBM i Operations Continue Upward Climb
    • VS Code Is The Full Stack IDE For IBM i
    • Domino Runs on IBM i 7.5, But HCL Still Working on Power10
    • Four Hundred Monitor, March 6
    • IBM i PTF Guide, Volume 25, Number 11

    Subscribe

    To get news from IT Jungle sent to your inbox every week, subscribe to our newsletter.

    Pages

    • About Us
    • Contact
    • Contributors
    • Four Hundred Monitor
    • IBM i PTF Guide
    • Media Kit
    • Subscribe

    Search

    Copyright © 2023 IT Jungle