Waiting Game for Oracle, SAP
The drama is picking up in a high-stakes takeover battle over a low-profile software company.
German software company
SAP
(SAP) - Get Report
said it is waiting to hear from
Retek
(RETK)
, which accepted its buyout offer last month only to receive a fatter one from the German company's arch rival
Oracle
(ORCL) - Get Report
Oracle late Tuesday said it would offer $9 a share, or $525 million, for Retek; SAP's bid is worth $8.50 a share, or $496 million. In countering SAP's offer, Oracle boss Larry Ellison made it clear the company was defending its turf as the No.1 player in the U.S. applications space.
"Retek now has to get in touch with us," SAP Chief Executive Henning Kagermann told the
Associated Press
at the CeBIT technology trade fair in Germany Thursday.
Minnesota-based Retek specializes in software that helps retail companies to perform numerous activities, including inventory and order management, point of sales operations and more -- areas that SAP has attempted to enter several times with only limited success.
Retek shares were recently down 10 cents, or 0.9%, to $10.53. Oracle shares were recently down 3 cents, or 0.2%, to $13.32, while SAP, which trades in the U.S. as an American Depositary Receipt, or ADR, was up 10 cents, or 0.2%, to $41.06. It shares also trade on the German stock market.