BI consolidation rumors boost Business Objects' stock
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(InfoWorld) - Business Objects SA's share price surged in Paris Thursday morning, as rumors swirled of a takeover bid from IBM Corp. or Oracle Corp. Buying the French BI (business intelligence) software vendor could be a good way for IBM or Oracle to use the cash they have available, according to one analyst. The three companies declined to comment. "We don't comment on rumors," said Business Objects spokesman Philippe Laguerre. Oracle made a big push into the BI market on March 22 with the launch of three software bundles branded Oracle Business Intelligence Suite. The bundles combine Oracle's database, its Fusion middleware and analytics software it acquired with its purchase of Siebel Systems. That deal, worth almost US$6 billion, closed on Jan. 31. IBM already partners with BI vendor Cognos Inc., a rival of Business Objects. On March 7, IBM announced that it will work more closely with Cognos to develop BI software with a SOA (service-oriented architecture). At the time, analysts suggested that acquiring Cognos would be a logical next step for IBM. Such a move could be hastened if Oracle were to bid for Business Objects, said David Bradshaw, principal analyst at Ovum Ltd. in London. Bradshaw dismissed another rumor he had heard, that German ERP (enterprise resource planning) vendor SAP AG could buy Business Objects. "They have not made many large acquisitions, and they already have their own BI technology," he said. The BI market is dominated by a group of large, independent vendors. Business Objects expects revenue to total $1.2 billion to $1.215 billion this year. Cognos expects revenue of $950 million to $970 million in its current financial year, which ends Feb. 28. Of the other large BI vendors, only Teradata belongs to another company (NCR Corp.), Bradshaw said. Based on Business Objects' market capitalization, a buyer would have to pay over â¬2 billion ($2.5 billion) for the company, he said. Business Objects and Cognos "have been around a while. Maybe the other players like having independents in the field," said Bradshaw. But should IBM and Oracle choose to change that status quo, buying Business Objects would be harder for Oracle than it looks, he said. "At first glance, it looks like a marriage made in heaven, but most of Oracle's customers already have at least one BI system," and often more, he said. Oracle applications have to work well with those different BI tools, and customers value that flexibility, he said. "Future customers would not want to be confined to having one BI tool." Trading in Business Objects shares opened in Paris at â¬24.80 on Thursday, up from the Wednesday closing price of â¬23.02. As the rumors spread, the price peaked at â¬25 but by the close of trading had settled back to â¬24.76, up 7.6 percent on the previous day's close.
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Business Objects SA's share price surged in Paris Thursday morning, as rumors swirled of a takeover bid from IBM Corp. or Oracle Corp.ADVERTISEMENTMAKE SOA REAL WITH IBM WEBSPHERE PODCASTStreamline processes and maximize efficiency within a proven service oriented architecture. Take back control of your business processes with IBM WebSphere.
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Investments in technology move in big cycles, and the next big upswing could focus on business intelligence software, already an industry that has had a wave of big takeovers.
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A strategic update on the software giant's business is due Thursday, but analysts aren't expecting a repeat ofv surprises dished up last year.
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NEW YORK  Big may be beautiful again. For about two years, many market analysts have been predicting the return of large, growth-oriented companies. But smaller-company shares have persistently outrun the big boys. Now, with a fog of uncertainty clouding stocks, money managers are renewing their ...
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Since acquiring Crystal Decisions in 2003, Business Objects has been working to integrate Crystal Reports into its business intelligence suite. Crystal is now part of BusinessObjects Enterprise XI, but it also continues to be available separately. And Crystal Reports XI is no mere rebranding â itâs a significant advancement in the Crystal reporting world. Crystal XI has several new features that make it not only easier to author, but also to manage and view reports.
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InfoWorld - Business Objects released new software Wednesday&#160;that combines EPM (enterprise performance management), BI, and data integration into a comprehensive suite aimed at CFOs and business finance managers.
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Oracle introduced a new BI platform yesterday, Business Intelligence 10g that rolls up into one solution all of their BI tools. However, more interesting than the nitty-gritty details of what is included is the back story taking place at the same time.
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Private equity firms have demonstrated strength in numbers by teaming up to make significant acquisitions, and as some firms keep expanding, investors say the trend toward "club" deals will help them snag assets that once were out of their grasp.
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The company's stock is up on settlement news, but buyers should beware.
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Company has revised its financial forecasts for the current quarter.
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The stock is revived, but the business remains iffy.
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Rumors of a merger make a Foolish investor look brilliant.
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Investors are selling stock in the storage king. Why?
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A long-anticipated merger may soon come true.
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(InfoWorld) - Business Objects has started to roll out a full suite of business intelligence (BI) software in the form of an online service, initially for customers using Salesforce.com applications. The service allows customers to use Business Objects' BI tools without having to maintain the software themselves or buy extra servers on which to run it. Business Objects maintains a copy of each customer's data in its own data centers, and employees access the data and BI applications through a Web browser. Business Objects took itsÂ first steps in on-demand softwareÂ last April with the release of crystalreports.com, for sharing reports online. That service has attracted about 50,000 customers, the company said. The new service announced Monday, called Intelligence OnDemand, includes a broader set of applications for formatted reporting, running ad hoc queries and analysis, and displaying BI "dashboards" on a user's desktop. The first version of the service, available now, is for customers who have data stored in Salesforce.com's online CRM applications. Business Objects will load a copy of the customer's Salesforce data to its own data centers and build a data warehouse that customers can use to run their BI queries. The service is aimed at sales and marketing staff and business analysts at companies with a high volume of Salesforce data, and is the first in suite of similar services that Business Objects plans to roll out, the company said. It includes on-demand versions of its Crystal Reports, Crystal Xcelsius and Web Intelligence products. Business Objects has staked outÂ an early lead in on-demand BI, although SAS Institute and some smaller BI vendors are also getting into the game. Proponents of such services say they helps customers to cut costs because they don't have to manage applications themselves or buy servers on which to run them. Business Objects said it's new service will take the "heavy lifting" out of building and maintaining a data warehouse. The trade-off is that customers must trust a third party to look after and provide access to their sensitive company data. Business Objects representatives weren't available to give pricing for the new service, which will be unveiled at an event in California later on Monday to coincide with the start of Salesforce.com's Dreamforce user conference in San Francisco. Some more information is at Business Objects new On Demand Web site. The company also opened an online store on Monday where customers can buy external market information, such as sales data for other companies' products, and include it in their data analysis. The information comes from firms such as Thomson Financial, eBay, and Dun & Bradstreet. Customers can buy individual reports from $150, or sign up for a subscription. Â
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The company's stock has had a rough few months, but the business still looks strong.