Investor Eyes Sybase Shakeup

Sandell's nominees to the board are John McFarlane, interim CEO of Exar Corp.(EXAR Quote); Jonathan Macey, deputy dean of the Yale Law School; and Sandell investment manager Nick Graziano.

In addition to database products, the Dublin, Calif.-based company develops software to manage integration and security issues when enterprise software is linked with mobile devices for employees, such as cell phones and handheld computers.

For the first three quarters of 2007, Sybase bought back nearly $92 million in stock.

Sandell stated in October that although Sybase's cash balance was sizable, the share repurchases did little more than use incremental cash generated by the company.

At the end of September, Sybase had $713.3 million in cash and short-term investments, according to the company. Its cash flow from operations for the full fiscal year ending in December is expected to be $210 million.

In October, CEO John Chen said the company would increase its buyback program to about $50 million per quarter.