Business software maker Oracle Corp will buy Hyperion Solutions Corp for US$3.3 billion in cash, renewing a shopping spree aimed at toppling rival SAP AG.
The deal announced on Thursday will give Oracle an arsenal of Hyperion products that are used by more than half of SAP's customers. Hyperion's tools, known as "business intelligence" software, help chief financial officers and other top corporate executives track their company's performance.
Redwood Shores-based Oracle will pay US$52 per share for Santa Clara-based Hyperion. The price represents a 21 percent premium above the most recent closing price of Hyperion's stock, which has traded between US$26.65 and US$45.18 during the past year.
Hyperion shares surged US$8.71, or 20.3 percent, to US$51.55 in Thursday morning trading on the NASDAQ, where Oracle shares gained US$0.41, or 2.5 percent, to US$16.84.
Oracle's acquisition could trigger a scramble for other leading business intelligence software makers such as France-based Business Objects SA and Canada-based Cognos Inc, said AMR Research analyst Bruce Richardson. He thinks Business Objects would be a logical takeover candidate for SAP and Cognos may elicit a bid from IBM Corp.
"This is just the first blow in the [business intelligence] market," Richardson said.
For now, investors appear more concerned about how Oracle's takeover of Hyperion might harm the other business intelligence software makers. Business Objects shares dropped US$1.58, or 4.4 percent, to US$34.52 in Thursday trading on the NASDAQ, where Cognos shares fell US$0.64, or 1.7 percent, to US$37.47.
The Hyperion acquisition extends an aggressive expansion that Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison launched to upgrade his company's business applications software, the computer coding that automates a wide range of administrative tasks.
Oracle is dominant in database software, but growth in that market has been tapering off in recent years -- a factor that convinced Ellison that Oracle needed to seize a bigger piece of the business applications market.
Germany-based SAP has long been the leader in the business applications field, but Oracle has been narrowing the gap by snapping up an array of other software makers, most notably PeopleSoft Inc and Siebel Systems Inc. Oracle has spent more than US$20 billion on 30 acquisitions during the past three years.
"Oracle is determined to drive more consolidation ... and make things a bit more uncomfortable for their rival SAP," said Mayiz Habbal, managing director at the Celent consulting firm.
Despite Oracle's expansion, SAP remains the business applications leader. Meanwhile, Oracle's market value during the past three years has climbed by roughly the same amount of money that the company has spent on its acquisitions.
The Hyperion deal is yet another shot across SAP's bow.
"Thousands of SAP customers close their books with the Hyperion product," Oracle president Charles Phillips said.
"We are achieving a critical mass in SAP accounts," he said.
About 55 percent of SAP's customers run Hyperion software, estimated AMR Research.
"Larry has got to love that," Richardson said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source