Geac Computer Corp looks set to win its $136m bid for struggling Birmingham, UK ERP vendor JBA Holdings Plc after the share price sagged to 227.5 pence as hopes faded of a rival offer to top Geac’s 250 pence bid. The offer officially closes today but is likely to be extended because it took place at the height of the holiday period and many shareholders will have delayed accepting in hopes of a higher bid. Geac president and CEO Doug Bergeron said it was typical for takeover offers to be extended beyond 21 days in the UK, especially during the summer. It needs 90% of the shares to complete the offer.
Peter Rigby, chairman and CEO of privately-owned Specialist Computer Holdings Ltd (SCH), who has built up a 11.9% stake in JBA, was among shareholders critical of the Geac offer. However, the failure of another bidder to arrive is evidence that JBA has few attractions, suffering all the problems of the ERP sector which had been exacerbated in its case by a doomed move into the high-end of the market.
Markham, Ontario-based GEAC, itself suffering losses as a result of the slowdown in the ERP market (CI No 3,732), now faces a formidable task of integrating JBA into its organization while at the same time absorbing the financial and human resources management product lines it acquired from Atlanta, Georgia-based software house Clarus Corp this month.
