4 ms·

I agree with you. MS and SAP would be a pretty formidable force. Having said that, MS continue to make very good strides in the business market but they still

by raarky 15y ago

I agree with you. MS and SAP would be a pretty formidable force. Having said that, MS continue to make very good strides in the business market but they still need to play in the consumer market.

ansy 15y ago
You guys do realize that SAP is at least one order of magnitude larger than Skype, right? It rings in at a $77 BILLION in market cap on the NYSE[1]. I'm not even sure that represents SAP's total value, either. There seems to be a separate listing valued at $55 BILLION that's traded on ETR[2]. SAP AG was the fourth largest software company in the entire world by revenue in 2010[3]. That kind of merger would be unique in Microsoft's history[4]. In fact Skype is already Microsoft's largest merger in history by a sizable margin. EDIT: The ETR listing is valued in euros, where 55 billion EUR roughly translates to 77 billion USD. Although I still don't know if that fully accounts for SAP AG's value. [1] http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3ASAP http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3ASAP [2] http://www.google.com/finance?q=ETR:SAP http://www.google.com/finance?q=ETR:SAP [3] http://www.softwaretop100.org/global-software-top-100-edition-2010 http://www.softwaretop100.org/global-software-top-100-editio... [4] https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Microsoft https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/List_of_merge...
- fauigerzigerk 15y ago
  I'm aware of that. Usually deals of that size are done at least partly through a share swap, not all cash. Microsoft needs to do something big. Skype just won't move the needle and it still costs a whole lot of money. But there is indeed a problem caused by SAP's size. It's completely uncertain whether regulators in Europe would allow such a deal to happen. Microsoft and SAP wanted to merge many years ago (when MS was arguably more powerful) but it was called off due to regulatory issues.
- barkingcat 15y ago
  That's why it would be an interesting acquisition / merger. It would be a transformative event, changing both companies in radical ways that would require a true leader with vision to take the reigns and recreate both companies. In my opinion, buying SAP would be Ballmer's worse nightmare - he wouldn't even know where to start in harnessing the energies of both companies, and that's why we'll probably never see this happen.

by raarky 15y ago

I agree with you. MS and SAP would be a pretty formidable force. Having said that, MS continue to make very good strides in the business market but they still need to play in the consumer market.

ansy 15y ago

You guys do realize that SAP is at least one order of magnitude larger than Skype, right? It rings in at a $77 BILLION in market cap on the NYSE[1]. I'm not even sure that represents SAP's total value, either. There seems to be a separate listing valued at $55 BILLION that's traded on ETR[2]. SAP AG was the fourth largest software company in the entire world by revenue in 2010[3]. That kind of merger would be unique in Microsoft's history[4]. In fact Skype is already Microsoft's largest merger in history by a sizable margin. EDIT: The ETR listing is valued in euros, where 55 billion EUR roughly translates to 77 billion USD. Although I still don't know if that fully accounts for SAP AG's value. [1] http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3ASAP http://www.google.com/finance?q=NYSE%3ASAP [2] http://www.google.com/finance?q=ETR:SAP http://www.google.com/finance?q=ETR:SAP [3] http://www.softwaretop100.org/global-software-top-100-edition-2010 http://www.softwaretop100.org/global-software-top-100-editio... [4] https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/List_of_mergers_and_acquisitions_by_Microsoft https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/List_of_merge...

fauigerzigerk 15y ago
I'm aware of that. Usually deals of that size are done at least partly through a share swap, not all cash. Microsoft needs to do something big. Skype just won't move the needle and it still costs a whole lot of money. But there is indeed a problem caused by SAP's size. It's completely uncertain whether regulators in Europe would allow such a deal to happen. Microsoft and SAP wanted to merge many years ago (when MS was arguably more powerful) but it was called off due to regulatory issues.
barkingcat 15y ago
That's why it would be an interesting acquisition / merger. It would be a transformative event, changing both companies in radical ways that would require a true leader with vision to take the reigns and recreate both companies. In my opinion, buying SAP would be Ballmer's worse nightmare - he wouldn't even know where to start in harnessing the energies of both companies, and that's why we'll probably never see this happen.