Microsoft Acquires e-Business Developer Navision

Microsoft Corp. announced on Tuesday it has reached an agreement to acquire Navision, a Denmark-based e-business software company.

Microsofts acquisition is valued at approximately $1.3 billion and is structured as a stock and cash purchase, based on an offer to shareholders of U.S. equivalent $36.83 per share.

Once the acquisition is complete, Navision, of Vedbaek, Denmark, will become part of the Microsofts Business Solutions division, which includes Microsoft Great Plains Business Solutions software.

The combination of Navision and Great Plains will make it easier for Microsoft to deliver .Net business solutions for SMBs, according to officials in Redmond, Wash., and gives Microsoft more ammunition to go up against SAP AG and Oracle Corp. as they go after the small and mid-sized business sector.

Purchased by Microsoft last year, Great Plains develops enterprise resource planning software for small businesses—which is what Navision brings to the table as well.

Microsoft has received criticism lately that Great Plains is not well suited to the European market, a niche Navision will look to fill, according to AMR Research in Boston, Mass. Though Navision has 1,300 employees in 30 countries, its most important asset to Microsoft will be its 2,000 partners across Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Navisions Vedbaek headquarters will become the center of development and operations for the Microsoft Business Solutions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa--the largest product development center for Microsoft, outside of the US, officials said.

Navisions product lines include Navision Axapta, Attain, Financials and XAL. Its product set works differently than most software companies: Partners can add functions to a Navision kernel to create industry- and area-specific solutions for SMBs.

As a result, according to AMR, Navisions partner channel is well versed in business process and Microsofts technology, a bonus for Microsoft, which is desperate to add business acumen to its technology-led ranks.