GT Nexus – The Latest $675 Million Infor Acquisition
Infor Inc. is a business enterprise software supplier. At its head is Charles Phillips, who was previously the President at Oracle. For Charles Phillips Oracle was the place where he was able to develop his unique acquisitions strategy, and this is something that he is now implementing at Infor. In fact, it took him just four months to make his first major acquisition through Infor, and he hasn’t stopped since. One of his latest acquisitions, and one with a $675 million price tag, is GT Nexus, the manufacturing software provider.
Infor sets itself apart by creating software solutions that are relevant to very specific industry. This includes health care programs, government programs, and manufacturing. One of the first things Phillips did as company CEO was move its headquarters to New York City from Georgia.
In purchasing GT Nexus, based in Oakland, CA, they have acquired supply chain management software that can be updated, downloaded, marketed, and sold online. The purchase took just 45 days to complete, a new record in the industry as well.
Phillips wants to be not just in competition with Oracle (his previous employer) and SAP, he wants to overtake them. He wants to create specialized industry niche software solutions, delivering them using the cloud. GT Nexus was a logical acquisition, therefore, as they focus on very specific companies including Procter & Gamble Co., Home Depot Inc., Adidas AG, and Nike Inc., to name but a few.
photo 401(K) 2012 via Flickr
What Infor wants to create is something post-modern. The solutions have to be suitable for multiple companies, but specific enough to be suitable for true niches. Infor’s focus, according to Phillips, is on shelfware and areas with fatigue.
Other major acquisitions include Lawson Software, which was its first one, as well as Epiphany and Baan. Through this, the company has been able to truly change their offerings. Summit Partners and Golden Gate Capital are the private equity firms that hold Infor, and they have been fully behind Phillips and his acquisition strategies since the word go.
Plans for IPO
GT Nexus is the second biggest acquisition made by Infor after Lawson. It is a profitable company with some $150 million in sales. 40% of the company is owned by Warburg Pincus LLC, a private equity firm, and the other 60% is held by management and founders.
In 2010, Phillips become Infor’s new CEO, just a few weeks after stepping down from his position as President of Oracle. The day that Phillips handed in his resignation, Mark Hurd was appointed President instead. For many, this means that the resignations and new positions were perhaps planned carefully between the different companies. That said, not even Oracle could ever have guessed that they would be in direct and significant competition with Infor in such a short period of time.
A short while ago, Infor hired Jeff Laborde, who previously worked at the Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and named him Chief Financial Officer. He is just one of the public offerings Infor has its eyes on.
The world of business is spending heavily on business software, and NetSuite Inc., Oracle, SalesForce.com, SAP, and Infor all want a piece of that pie. What sets Infor apart, however, is that they focus specifically on cloud based applications.
Guest Author: Lolita Di
