Pivotal goes to CDC after Onyx drops bid
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Onyx has abandoned its bid for mid-market CRM rival Pivotal after the Pivotal board approved an alternative offer from Hong Kong-based CDC Software.
4 December 2003 Onyx, the mid-market customer relationship management (CRM) software supplier, has abandoned its bid for rival Pivotal after being trumped by CDC Software, the software integration division of Hong Kong-based Chinadotcom.
The decision follows a series of bids by CDC throughout November, culminating in a 1 December bid that the board of Pivotal said represented a "superior transaction" to alternative offers on the table from Talisma and Onyx.
The news should put an end to a complicated two-month takeover saga and pave the way for Pivotal's acquisition by CDC, which comes just three months after CDC acquired manufacturing software vendor Ross Systems in a deal valued at $68.9.
Pivotal had been set to merge with Talisma in October after venture capital firm Oak Investment Partners, the majority shareholder of Talisma, announced plans to buy Pivotal, in which it has a minority shareholding, and merge the two companies.
Rival Onyx subsequently swooped with a counter-offer in November, as did CDC Software. However, the initial $53 million CDC stock and cash bid was considered too risky and the board of Pivotal continually urged shareholders to vote in favour of the Talisma deal.
Pivotal management also cold-shouldered the Onyx approach, despite the fact Onyx had offered $58 million in stock compared to Talisma's bid of $48 million. Pivotal cited the volatility of Onyx's stock, lack of profitability and pending litigation against it among the reasons for rejecting Onyx's offer.
