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SAP taps software rival Ariba in $4.3bn deal
EUROPEAN software company SAP AG plans to buy US software maker Ariba in a deal valuing the company at $4.3bn in a bid to compete more aggressively against rival Oracle in the fast-growing cloud computing market.
SAP and Ariba, a darling of the first dotcom boom that has since reinvented itself as a major networking and online commerce software developer, have agreed to the acquisition at $45 a share, representing a 20 per cent premium.
The purchase of Ariba, based in Sunnyvale, California, would be the latest in a string of acquisitions by Germany’s SAP to help fuel its revenue growth and keep up with rivals.
SAP’s deal values Ariba at 6.9 times expected 2013 revenue, according to Roth Capital Partners.