SAP has revealed its intentions to make a public tender offer to purchase all shares in SAF Simulation, Analysis and Forecasting, a provider of forecasting and replenishment software for the retail and wholesale industries.

Through the intended acquisition, SAP plans to extend and complement its current planning, forecasting and replenishment product portfolio for retail and wholesale companies. The companies have had an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partnership for the last seven years. Currently, SAP does not hold any shares in SAF.

According to SAP, companies in the retail and wholesale industries prefer software that offers integrated business processes from corporate headquarters to the warehouse to the store level.

Andreas von Beringe, founder, CEO and president of SAF, said: Since 2002, SAP has relied on our technological expertise and has fully integrated our SAF engine into its SAP Forecasting and Replenishment module within the framework of our OEM partnership.

In becoming a part of SAP, SAF brings its sustainable forecasting and replenishment expertise to the company. Our customers will clearly benefit from the combined service and product portfolio as well as from the strong retail expertise and the global reach of SAP as the worldwide market leader in business software.

Bob Stutz, corporate officer and member of the executive council at SAP, said: Through the planned acquisition of SAF, SAP reiterates its strategy to help our customers gain more clarity and transparency across their businesses and drive sustainable efficiency through innovative and reliable software solutions. With core components of the SAF software already embedded into the SAP Retail solutions, customers will further benefit from the joined solution and technology portfolio, as well as from the combined innovative strengths.

SAP intends to offer SAF shareholders an amount of $11.50 per share, which represents a 9.5% premium over SAF’s closing price on July 17, 2009, and a 33.9% premium to the volume-weighted average price of the SAF shares on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange over the past three months. The offer will be made subject to a minimum acceptance threshold of 50% plus one share and the approval of the responsible anti-trust authorities.

The major shareholders of SAF, who together hold about 38% of the shares in the company, have reportedly agreed to accept the SAP offer.