Business Objects Completes Its Acquisition of Crystal Decisions

Analytics software maker Business Objects has announced the completion of its acquisition of Crystal Decisions. Under terms of the acquisition agreement Business Objects says it will issue approximately 26.8 million ordinary shares and will pay approximately $307.6 million in cash to former Crystal Decisions stockholders. Business Objects announced last July its initial plans to buy Crystal Decisions, which provides enterprise reporting software and services, in a stock/cash deal estimated at $1.2 billion. Crystal Decisions has more than 30 offices around the globe, and has sold more than 15 million licenses. More than 360 independent software vendors have standardized on the company's products. Business Objects has more than 18,000 customers in more than 80 countries. "This acquisition creates the clear leader in business intelligence, with the largest customer base, the strongest product line, and the highest revenue in the sector," Bernard Liautaud, Business Objects chairman and CEO, said in a statement from the company's annual shareholder meeting last week in Paris. The combined company will have a customer base of more than 24,000 companies and annual sales of more than $800 million, according to Business Objects. The buyout boosts Business Objects' efforts to expand its line of business-intelligence tools and applications. In the past business deployed analytics software on a departmental basis. Now users want to standardize company-wide on software from a small number of vendors. Business Objects will detail in early January its plans for combining the companies' operations and integrating their software product lines. Next month Business Objects plans to announce more specifics on the integration of Crystal Decisions, including the product road map and other key materials; a multicity, global road show for customers and partners; an advertising campaign running in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Japan; and a unified Web site (www.businessobjects.com). The company also announced that Liautaud, president and COO John Olsen, and CFO Jim Tolonen remain in those posts in the newly combined company. William Gibson, Crystal Decisions' COO, becomes senior vice president of strategic alliances, while Susan Wolfe, Crystal Decisions' general counsel, becomes Business Objects' general counsel and corporate secretary. Andrew Handford, vice president of products at Crystal Decisions, is Business Objects' new business-intelligence platform senior vice president.