SAP acquires Sybase for $5.8 billion

Business software provider SAP announced an agreement to acquire enterprise software and services company Sybase--parent of mobile messaging solutions provider Sybase 365--for $5.8 billion. According to SAP, the Sybase deal will accelerate the reach of its solutions across mobile platforms, making it easier to create, deliver and manage applications across device portfolios. The merger will also enable SAP and its customers to generate alerts, transactions and promotions targeting 4 billion mobile subscribers worldwide thanks to Sybase 365's agreements with more than 850 operators.

Sybase will operate as a standalone unit under the name "Sybase, an SAP Company," and its existing management team will continue to lead the business. The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of this year.

"Sybase has a major component of its business in Sybase 365: a company with connectivity to nearly all the worldwide carriers for its SMS/MMS messaging traffic," writes analyst Jack Gold in a research note. "However, Sybase 365 also has some core components necessary for extending end user services to consumers (e.g., mobile payments, m-commerce, alerting). This is very attractive to key industries (e.g., retailing, banking) that want to extend their SAP back office systems to be direct to consumer focused (e.g., on-line banking, mobile commerce). This is a huge opportunity in both the developed and the developing world, and SAP should be able to leverage this accordingly and generate some significant revenues."

For more on the SAP/Sybase deal:
- read this release

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