Lawson Software has been sold to fellow ERP firm Infor, together with Golden Gate Capital, in a deal worth around $2bn.
The takeover has been on the cards for a while now; in March this year reports emerged of an unsolicited $1.84bn offer from Infor. This deal works out at $11.25 per Lawson share, valuing the firm at $2bn. The price is 88 cents lower than the company’s closing price on Monday but is up on Lawson’s price around the time news on the deal emerged.
Lawson will be taken private by GGC Software Holdings, an affiliate of Golden Gate Capital and Infor.
"We are pleased to have entered into a transaction that will offer Lawson stockholders an attractive valuation," said Harry Debes, Lawson’s president and chief executive officer. "After a thorough examination of the strategic alternatives available to the company as well as extensive discussions with Golden Gate and Infor, Lawson’s board unanimously concluded that this transaction is in the best interests of the company and our stockholders."
Debes took over Lawson in June 2005 and oversaw impressive regeneration until the first quarter of 2009, when revenue only marginally increased and software licensing slumped 17%. He courted controversy at the end of 2008 when he claimed SaaS would be dead within two years.
"There is an assumption that SaaS is cheaper," he told CBR at the time. "But is it cheaper to own a car or lease it? I know that it’s more expensive to build a whole bunch of interfaces and handle 15 or 20 ‘siloed’ systems. From a vendor perspective SaaS will go the same way as ASPs [application service providers] or service bureaus. They will only survive if it’s a win-win for both vendors and customers."
"After the transaction closes, we plan to integrate many of the applications as soon after closing as possible, facilitated by a standards-based approach and the fact that both companies’ applications are already service-enabled. We also plan to innovate and change how customers deploy, use, and upgrade enterprise applications. We have a long list of ideas to improve the customer experience and deliver value through a singular focus on enterprise applications, accelerated investment, and a strong incentive to challenge convention," said Charles Phillips, CEO of Infor and former Oracle president.
The combined offering will serve 75,000 customers in a variety of verticals, such as manufacturing, health care, distribution, public sector and hospitality, the firms said.
Phillips, who joined from Oracle at the end of 2010, has stamped his authority on Infor by announcing plans to hire 400 new software engineers and ship approximately 60% more products and enhancements this year than last.
When reports emerged that Lawson was a takeover target for Infor it was thought that SAP or Oracle would join the bidding. But speaking to CBR recently, Infor’s chief strategy officer, Bruce Richardson, said he thought it would be a one horse race.
"I find that hard to believe [they would bid for Lawson]. Neither wants anything to do with the AS/400 platform. With my analyst hat on, I can’t see it. Oracle hasn’t really gone directly after the ERP market for a while. Its sales people are most comfortable selling to the Fortune 500 and they’ve already made their decision on that. Most of the growth in the ERP space is in the smaller and mid-market," he told CBR.
The deal is expected to close during the third quarter of 2011.
