7 May 2002 Microsoft is set to acquire Danish enterprise application software vendor Navision for $1.3 billion (€1.4bn) after Navision’s board unanimously recommended the deal to shareholders.
The offer values Navision at 7% more than analysts initially thought Microsoft would pay. Stockholders will receive DKK300 (€40.37) per share.
The acquisition will strengthen Microsoft’s European presence in the small and medium sized business (SMB) software market. The US software giant first entered this market with the acquisition of Great Plains, at the end of 2000.
Analysts believe Navision will fit well with Great Plains. Navision makes enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management software for SMBs, whereas Great Plains specialises in accounting and back office software for SMBs.
However, neither company is particularly strong outside their respective continents. Navision’s headquarters in Vedbaek, Denmark are expected to provide Microsoft with a European development centre for its Business Solutions division.
In the six months to the end of December 2001, Navision posted revenues up 19% to DKK849 million (€114.3m), a performance that was partly driven by the change to the new Euro currency across the European Union.
