Infor adds SSA Global to its string of high profile IT acquisitions

Ultra acquisitive ERP and supply chain systems developer Infor is to acquire rival ERP software firm SSA Global, bringing to a close another turbulent chapter in the history of enterprise systems companies. Infor’s offer of $19.50 per share in cash to SSA Global’s shareholders has been approved by SSA’s directors and 84% of the shareholders, and the deal should close in August this year – this from a standing start said by company officers to date back just three weeks. “With this acquisition, Infor will become the third largest enterprise software provider in the industry, with approximately $1.6 billion in revenue,” says Jim Schaper, Infor’s chairman and CEO. “Infor has become a significant force in the industry by assembling and innovating market-specific, best-in-class enterprise software solutions, which provides customers with a flexible choice in the market.” Conceding defeat in what has become a tough market, Mike Greenough, chairman, president and CEO of SSA Global, says: “In a rapidly consolidating marketplace we have seen that size and scale matter. This transaction brings value to all of our key stakeholders … our investors, our customers and our employees.” The last few months have seen Infor acquiring at an incredible rate –with enterprise asset management software firm Datastream and ERP firm Geac being the most recent, and adding to its already substantial holding, which includes Mapics, Frontstep, Lilly Software, Brain and Mercia. Just three years ago, Infor was little know outside Germany, only coming to the attention of UK users as it purchased SME-focused Swan, forming then Infor-Swan. A little over two years ago US-based Agilisys bought Infor and promptly renamed itself, and the acquisition strategy, with backers Golden Gate Capital and Summit Partners began in earnest. With SSA it will be undisputed global number three for extended ERP, with some 37,000 customers, 6,800 employees and combined revenues of $1.6 billion. Schaper recently went on record saying: “Infor is changing what customers expect from an enterprise software provider by assembling and integrating best-of-breed solutions and professionals with deep industry knowledge that is unrivalled in the industry.” How true! Keith Deane, Infor’s vice president of operations for EMEA, reckons this will be one of Infor’s easier acquisitions: “It’s very much in our space; the synergies are substantial and we’re buying a healthy business that’s doing well.” He says that, as with Infor’s other purchases, SSA Global will be taken from public to private ownership. And he adds: “There’s a very nice fit with the solutions – they extends Infor into project manufacturing, warehouse management transportation, logistics and freight movement. [SSA] also takes us to a higher end of the market above where Infor has targeted its systems – especially with what was the Baan technology.” Deane also comments on SSA’s iSeries platform standing – another clear synergy with Infor’s existing range – although he makes no comment on some of the legacy systems also in the SSA stable, making the point that the company is profitable and that those systems are still selling well. As for the future for users, if Infor’s past approach is followed they needn’t worry. As Mike Frichol, vice president of global industry marketing for Infor’s Discrete Manufacturing Group, told me over the earlier Geac acquisition: “All they have to do is look at our track record with other acquisitions. We have continued to maintain and support all those customers. In fact, our maintenance renewal rates are 96.8% – much higher than they were before we acquired these companies.”