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May 14, 2010

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SAP will purchase Sybase for US$5.8b

GERMAN business software maker SAP AG has agreed to buy Sybase Inc in a US$5.8 billion deal that ratchets up SAP's rivalry with database leader Oracle Corp.

The acquisition is the first big move by SAP's new co-CEOs Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe, who took over in February after the previous CEO, Leo Apotheker, resigned. The resignation came amid concerns over SAP's faltering finances and its ability to counter the mounting threat from Oracle.

SAP and Oracle are battling to run more of the programs that corporations use to manage their data. Their businesses overlap even more with SAP's purchase of Sybase.

As the world's leading maker of business-software applications, SAP has had the luxury of being largely quiet when it comes to acquisitions. It hasn't had to buy its way into many new markets.

Its last major acquisition was in 2008, when it bought Paris-based Business Objects for US$6.8 billion. That company's "business intelligence" software helps companies analyze their data and spot patterns to help them make decisions.

Oracle, meanwhile, has been on a US$40 billion buying binge since 2004 in what in most cases has been an attempt to muscle into SAP's markets.

Oracle's primary business is making database software, an area where it's the world's leader with more than 40 percent of the market.

Databases help companies store their information and retrieve it later through computer programs.

Sybase is a small player in that market, with about 2 or 3 percent market share.

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