SAP to Acquire Ariba for $4.3 Billion - Business Collaboration in the Cloud

SAP agreed to acquire Ariba for $45.00 per share, representing an enterprise value of approximately $4.3 billion and a 20% premium over the company's closing stock price on May 21. The deal combines Ariba's buyer-seller collaboration network with SAP's broad customer base and business process expertise to create new models for business-to-business collaboration in the cloud.

Ariba is based in Sunnyvale, California and has 2,600 employees. It recorded 2011 revenue of $444 million, up 38.5 percent over 2010.

Last week, SAP announced the roadmap for its cloud applications business (Software-as-a-Service), focusing on managing customers, suppliers, employees, and financials, in addition to its cloud suite offerings SAP Business ByDesign and SAP Business One. http://www.sap.com http://www.ariba.com