SAP America has agreed to buy cloud-based business commerce network Ariba, Inc. for $4.3 billion.
The deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter, expands SAP’s software-as-a-service business and puts the company in a leading position in that fast-growing segment of the b2b technology industry.
“The cloud has profoundly changed the way people interact. The impact will be even greater as enterprises connect and collaborate in new ways with their global networks of customers and partners,” SAP Co-CEOs Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe said in a statement announcing the acquisition. “Cloud-based collaboration is redefining business network innovation, and we are catching this wave in the early stage of its evolution. The addition of Ariba will create the business network of the future, deliver immediate value to our customers and provide another solid engine for driving SAP’s growth in the cloud.”
Ariba’s board of directors unanimously approved the transaction, which at $45 per share represents the enterprise value of $4.3 billion. The deal is now subject to customary closing conditions.
SAP plans to consolidate its cloud-related supplier assets under Ariba. Ariba’s existing management team will continue to lead the company, which will operate as an independent business under the name “Ariba, an SAP company.”
Going forward, SAP hopes to tap into its customer base of more than 190,000 companies to expand Ariba’s cloud-based network. Ariba connects and automates more than $319 billion in transactions, collaborations, and intelligence among more than 730,000 companies.
