SAP to buy TopTier

Pending the approval of anti-trust officials, SAP has agreed to acquire TopTier, which has been an SAP partner since 1999. Part of of its technology is already integrated into the mySAP Workplace portal.

Under the terms of the agreement, SAP will acquire all of the outstanding shares of TopTier for approximately $400 million in cash, 20 times TopTier's 2000 earnings. On its Web site, SAP says it “anticipates recording a charge resulting from acquired in-process research and development that will not exceed $50 million.”

SAP reports its Workplace portal integrates mySAP e-business solutions and non-SAP components to deliver timely, role-based information, applications and services, adding that TopTier technology enables further integration of heterogeneous applications beyond those of SAP.