St. Paul, Minn.-based Lawson, a provider of enterprise software used by many state and local governments, reported $736 million in revenue and 4,500 customers in 2010.
In late March, Infor and San Francisco-based Golden Gate Capital submitted an unsolicited bid for Lawson. Infor, a privately held company with $1.8 billion in revenue and more than 70,000 customers, has acquired more than 20 applications vendors over the past decade.
Lawson stockholders will receive $11.25 per share in cash, according to the terms of the agreement.
For Lawson’s public-sector customers, it’s business as usual — at least for the short-term, Lawson spokesman Terry Blake said. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter, between July and August, so Lawson will continue as a publicly traded company until then, he said.
Infor said the two companies would create an integrated applications suite with a standards-based approach. Together, the two companies will provide “richer and deeper functionality” in its business verticals, including state and local government, according to Infor.
“We also plan to innovate and change how customers deploy, use, and upgrade enterprise applications,” said Infor CEO Charles Phillips. “We have a long list of ideas to improve the customer experience and deliver value through a singular focus on enterprise applications, accelerated investment, and a strong incentive to challenge convention."
Infor said its business software offerings in manufacturing, supply chain, work force, and asset management, combined with Lawson’s enterprise financials and HR products, would result in single sign-on and simplified navigation across streamlined applications that are delivered on-premise and in the cloud.
Lawson’s fate had been up in the air for weeks. Lawson CEO Harry Debes conceded at the company’s annual user conference earlier this month that the acquisition was the “elephant in the room.” At the time, speculation swirled that Oracle or another bidder would try to trump Infor’s offer.
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