Lawson acquired for US$2 billion

Lawson Software, Inc has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by a San Francisco-based private equity company Golden Gate Capital and business software company Infor for approximately US$2 billion.

Lawson, which markets an ERP system for the rental and equipment sales market, announced that it had received an offer from Infor and Golden Gate on 11 March. Lawson carried out a strategic review of its options, during which it contacted other potential buyers to solicit purchase offers.

The purchase price represents a premium of approximately 28% to Lawson's closing share price on January 10, 2011, the date before Lawson entering into a non-disclosure agreement with Infor.

Harry Debes, Lawson's president and chief executive officer, said; "We look forward to working closely with the Golden Gate and Infor teams to ensure a smooth transition and complete the transaction as expeditiously as possible".

Charles Phillips, chief executive officer of Infor, said; "Lawson is a natural strategic partner for Infor, offering complementary software solutions that will extend our existing portfolio, particularly in areas such as healthcare, public sector, manufacturing and human capital management".