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What Might Have Been: Microsoft Almost Bought SAP

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the increasingly-increasingly-misused dept.

steveorama writes "This article from Bloomberg indicates that 'Microsoft Corp, the world's largest software maker, approached late last year about buying the German company, a combination that would have vaulted it to the biggest seller of software for business applications.'" The talks came out in advance of likely disclosure in the ongoing merger battle involving Oracle, PeopleSoft and the U.S. Department of Justice. An anonymous reader points to this article in the Financial Times, adding "Microsoft says the discussions were halted due to the complexity involved in the transaction and in integrating the two companies. A merger with SAP would be a profound break with previous Microsoft strategy, and would likely have raised eyebrows among regulators."

10 of 208 comments (clear)

  1. first by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    first

  2. open source by wahsapa · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    they dont know how to merge with SAP because M$ doesnt know how to change its business model ie:"hardware is free screw opensource" hooha thats going on right now... or is this not related to that?

  3. Here we go by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Cue the Libertarian/Republican Dog-Eat-Dog/Survival-of-the-fittest Idioits that claim that microsoft should be able to do whatever they want, even if what they want is to eliminate all competition and prevent any more from forming.

  4. Re:I know why.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    only nouns are capitalized in German

  5. Re:For God's sake by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    It's spelt breast. Perhaps you never got out of your basement to go to school.

    And my own breast do count ;)

  6. Re:Which is complex? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    roccothegreat :"I think it was more a COMPLEXITY of the SAP code that M$ did not understand!"

    I think you are smoking crack.
    Didn't I warn you to lay off those hard drugs?
    Shoudda listened.

  7. mod 0P by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    hand...don't in any wa7 r3lated OpenBSD guys. They Recent article put

  8. SAP? Who? by fire-eyes · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    Uh yeah?

    --
    -- Note: If you don't agree with me, don't bother replying. I won't read it.
  9. Re:Has anyone noticed by The+Lynxpro · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    "That corporate mergers have increased(Peoplesoft&Oracle,Clearchannel) under the Bush administration and no one really cares until you turn on the Cnn/moneyline and notice that the corporations aren't hiring because of HIGH productivity by their businesses. Most hirings come from small business. To me mergers mean only one thing , an attempt to monopolize."

    You blame the (George W.) Bush Administration for that? Which political party has catered to the interests of *small business* for twenty plus years? I do think it is the Republican Party. Every time a new *progressive* labor law is unveiled in Congress, it is the Republicans that challenge it until concessions are made for small business tax deductions to make up for the increasing costs.

    Which administration did the Time Warner/Turner merger take place in? Which administration was the AOL Time Warner merger first proposed? Which administration allowed SBC to gobble up the majority of the former Baby Bell telcos? T'was not the George W. Bush Administration.

    Get your facts straight.

    --
    "Right now, somewhere in this world, Scott Baio is plowing a woman he doesn't love," - Peter Griffin, *Family Guy*
  10. Anime! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    "Otaku unite." -
    Niira - nayami@anime-chat.com