SAP extends $5.8B deadline to purchase Sybase
SA has extended its cash offer for all outstanding shares of common stock of Sybase Inc. until July 16.
SAP, through its indirectly wholly owned subsidiary, Sheffield Acquisition Corp., has extended its $5.8 billion cash tender offer for all outstanding shares of common stock of Sybase Inc. until 9 p.m. Eastern time July 16, unless further extended.
The tender offer, at a price of $65 per share, was set to expire at 9 p.m. July 1, according to a company statement today.
The offer to purchase the Dublin, Calif., company, which was announced May 12, is being extended because certain conditions are not yet satisfied, including approval of the European Commission under European Union merger regulations, the statement said.
The transaction will bring together two information technology providers and enable them to become better-run “unwired enterprises,” according to the SAP announcement dated May 12.
SAP, one of the largest suppliers of enterprise software, and Sybase will benefit from synergies across product lines and markets, and the merger will expand opportunities for both, the SAP announcement said.
In February, SAP shook up its top-level leadership when it replaced Chief Executive Officer Leo Apotheker with two co-CEOs: Bill McDermott, who had led the company's field organization, and Jim Hagemann Snabe, head of product development.
“McDermott and Snabe are using acquisitions to reverse the sales slump that led to the departure of their predecessor,” a report on Bloomberg News said.