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Enterprise CMS Acquisitions: Open Text Grabs Hummingbird

By Brice Dunwoodie

Aug 7. 2006

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ECM vendor Open Text reports an agreement to acquire 100% of Hummingbird Ltd. in an all cash deal. Hummingbird acquired Web CMS vendor RedDot just over a year ago.

Open Text will acquire all of Hummingbird's outstanding shares in an all-cash transaction valued at US$27.85 per share, or approximately US$489 million. This is 10 cents more per share than the original offer, which Hummingbird urged shareholders to decline.

"With its historic presence in the legal and government verticals, Hummingbird is a strategic fit with our focus on ECM
solutions aimed at vertical markets and regulatory compliance," said John Shackleton, President and CEO of Open Text.

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Hummingbird has publicly acknowledged the acquisition and states that prior to executing the agreement with Open Text, they terminated their agreement with suitor Symphony and, as was required by that agreement, paid a termination fee of about USD 11.7 million.

The deal is still subject to the approval of Hummingbird's shareholders, which should be decided in the late September timeframe. Whether the story will change between now and September end is still a matter of some debate, but it seems unlikely.

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