Sybase CEO sees more jobs with SAP
The chief executive of Dublin-based Sybase said Monday that if the $5.8 billion deal by German software company SAP to acquire the company goes through as he expects, more jobs, not fewer, will be created.
“The current thinking is I don’t expect anything but growth in terms of head count,” said John Chen, CEO of Sybase. “We definitely don’t expect a reduction.”
Today there are about 3,870 employees with Sybase worldwide with 615 Sybase employees at its headquarters in Dublin.
The deal has already been unanimously approved by Sybase’s board of directors and now will go through the regulatory approval process. If all goes as planned, it is expected to close during the third quarter of this year.
“It’s not easy for others to put a bid on Sybase, so I think it will go through without a problem,” said Trip Chowdhry, analyst at Global Equities Research. “It makes a lot of sense for SAP to acquire Sybase.”
Also Monday, an investor filed a lawsuit in California Court stating that it felt the $65-per-share price was too cheap, calling it “unfair and grossly inadequate,” according to the Shareholders Foundation. Shares of Sybase continue to trade close to the offer price. On Monday, shares closed at $64.12, up 8 cents. The fact the price hasn’t risen about the offer price generally indicates that no other bids are expected.
Chen, however, said contrary to the share-price lawsuit, he had been getting congratulatory messages since the deal was announced from shareholders cheering the deal.”For my shareholders, they are getting a premium on a stock that because of the deal didn’t just reach a 52-week high, but a 12-year high,” Chen said. “It would have been irresponsible of me to my shareholders to not take this deal.”
Chen said that the mobile platform that Sybase brings to the table is the main attraction for SAP.
The silver lining for Sybase is that it will retain its core management, including Chen, and still operate as a stand-alone unit under the name “Sybase, an SAP Company.”
Chen said no specifics on how the how the two will leverage each other will be discussed until the deal is complete.
“It’s a little bittersweet, because it’s kind of like marrying your child,” he added. “My heart aches a little bit, but my brain knows we’re doing the right thing.”
