SAP to acquire Cleartrip backer Concur Technologies for $8.3B

German enterprise software major SAP has entered into an agreement to acquire Nasdaq-listed Concur Technologies Inc., a travel and expense management solutions firm co-founded by its Indian origin chief Steve Singh, for approximately $8.3 billion. Concur is a key investor in Indian online travel agencyCleartrip.com.

The transaction, expected to close by the first quarter of 2015, will be funded from a credit facility agreement of up to €7 billion (over $9 billion) to cover the purchase price, target debt refinancing and acquisition-related costs, SAP said.

With Concur, SAP's business network will transact more than $600 billion annually and deliver commerce across more than 25 different industries.

"The acquisition is consistent with our relentless focus on the business network," said Bill McDermott, CEO of SAP.

"We are making a bold move to innovate the future of business within and between companies. With Ariba, Fieldglass and Concur, SAP is the undisputed business network company. We are redefining how businesses conduct commerce across goods and services, contingent workforces, travel and entertainment. With the SAP HANA platform, the possibilities to innovate new business models around Concur and the network are limitless," he added.

Founded in 1993, Concur provides integrated travel and expense management solutions. For organisations, Concur helps ensure that corporate travel is booked before the trip is taken and reconciles expenses after travel is completed. And by delivering electronic receipts – from airlines, hotels, and car rental companies – directly into expense reports, Concur eliminates the need to track and manage paper receipts.

The firm claims it has more than 23,000 customers, 4,200 employees and 25 million active users in over 150 countries. Concur has a revenue run rate of more than $700 million.

"We have always been focused on making solutions for real customer problems, and with SAP we have a great opportunity to advance that mission," said Steve Singh, CEO of Concur. "We are constantly seeking innovative ways to deliver the best customer experience and we're excited about leveraging SAP technology, including HANA as we scale globally."

Post the acquisition, Concur will expand SAP's business network to reach into the $1.2 trillion corporate travel spectrum. With SAP HANA platform, Concur anticipates real-time network collaboration that will create new business models and eliminate needless complexity confronting millions of business travellers worldwide. Together the two companies will have more than 50 million users in the cloud.

Cleartrip

In April 2011, Concur had invested $40 million in Cleartrip in a deal that also included a marketing partnership that enabled Concur to access travel content and integrate with Cleartrip's offerings and together target the Indian business travel market.

More recently, Sherpalo Ventures, the venture capital firm launched by Google board member Kavitark Ram Shriram, exited Cleartrip Travel Services Pvt Ltd, which runs the online travel booking site Cleartrip.com, by selling its entire stake in the company to Concur.

Concur's chief Steve Singh also serves as chairman of Cleartrip board.

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)