Infor acquires SSA Global

The contest to see who could acquire more supply chain software companies -- SSA Global or Infor – has come to an end, with Infor declared the winner by virtue of its acquiring SSA Global for roughly $1.4 billion ($19.50 per share). Both companies are providers of extended enterprise solutions, primarily for the manufacturing and distribution industries.

The combined company will have approximately $1.6 billion in revenue, says Jim Schaper, Infor’s chairman and CEO. The two companies have more than 35,000 combined customers.

Under the terms of the agreement, Infor has agreed to pay $19.50 per share in cash to SSA Global's shareholders. The parties anticipate closing the transaction in the third calendar quarter of 2006. The closing is subject to certain customary conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals and SSA Global shareholder approval. Certain shareholders representing approximately 84% of SSA Global's outstanding shares have entered into voting agreements to support the merger.

“The consolidators are now acquiring other consolidators,” notes Simon Bragg, an analyst with ARC Advisory Group. “The combined company will have scale, and in principle, the development resources to create advanced, integrated manufacturing solutions.” Questions remain, however. “It is not clear if Infor will generate the profitability that its backers desire. However, it should become clear in the next few weeks whose – Infor’s or SSA’s – product strategy the combined company will adopt.”

The combined Infor/SSA now includes product lines acquired from the following former companies: Agilisys, Arzoon, Baan, Brain, Datastream, Epiphany, EXE Technologies, Geac, InterBiz, Lilly Software, Mapics, Marcam, Mercia, NxTrend, Provia, and Vigilance, among others.

www.infor.com