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SAP to Acquire France's Business Objects

$6.78 billion deal bolsters SAP's business intelligence position

By Lucas Laursen,  Newser Staff

Posted Oct 8, 2007 8:51 AM CDT

(Newser) – German business software maker SAP agreed yesterday to buy French Business Objects, SA for $6.78 billion, making an aggressive move into the business intelligence market, the Wall Street Journal reports . Business Objects is a market leader in the field, which analyzes a firm’s performance and that of its competition; it's used for corporate risk management and governance, especially by very large companies.

The deal marks a strategy shift for SAP, which had been committed to organic growth rather than acquisitions. Rival Oracle, which has taken the opposite tack, considered buying Business Objects, but instead picked up another business inelligence player, Hyperion Solutions Corp, for $3.3 billion. Unlike Oracle, SAP is not expected to attempt to dismantle Business Objects, which is partially protected by French labor laws.

The logo of the German software company SAP is seen on the company's headquarters in Walldorf near Heidelberg, southern Germany, in this May 6, 2004 file picture. Business software maker SAP said Thursday, July 19, 2007 that its second-quarter net profit grew 8 percent, citing continued market share gains and...
The logo of the German software company SAP is seen on the company's headquarters in Walldorf near Heidelberg, southern Germany, in this May 6, 2004 file picture. Business software maker SAP said Thursday,...   (Associated Press)
Exterior view of Oracle headquarters in Redwood City, Calif. Tuesday, June 26, 2007. Oracle Corp.'s fiscal fourth-quarter profit topped analyst expectations, providing further validation for a $25 billion shopping spree that has enabled the software maker to narrow rival SAP AG's long-standing lead in the business applications market. (AP...
Exterior view of Oracle headquarters in Redwood City, Calif. Tuesday, June 26, 2007. Oracle Corp.'s fiscal fourth-quarter profit topped analyst expectations, providing further validation for a $25 billion...   (Associated Press)
SAP AG's new SAP Business ByDesign program is demonstrated at an event, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007 in New York.  (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)
SAP AG's new SAP Business ByDesign program is demonstrated at an event, Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007 in New York. (AP Photo/Jason DeCrow)   (Associated Press)
Bernard Liautaud, founder, chairman, and chief strategy officer of Business Objects (Photo
Bernard Liautaud, founder, chairman, and chief strategy officer of Business Objects (Photo   (Associated Press)
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