Last independent portal vendor acquired

The already turbulent portal marketplace has been shaken by another vendor acquisition. Software specialist BEA Systems has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Plumtree Software, the last independent vendor in the space for approximately $200m.

Under the terms of the deal, BEA will pay $5.50 per share, in cash, along with the assumption of any outstanding Plumtree options.

The combined portfolio will feature both collaborative and transactional portals across multiple platforms and application servers, with Plumtree’s software expected to become part of a new BEA product unit once the acquisition is complete.

BEA’s chief technology officer and executive vice president, Mark Carges will lead the transition, alongside John Kunze, CEO at Plumtree.

“The portal is becoming the major point of integration in the enterprise,” says Alfred Chuang, chairman and CEO at BEA. “The acquisition of the Plumtree portfolio will make BEA the provider of the most open, extensible and standards-based J2EE, .net and service-orientated platform in the industry.”

But, according to industry analysts, the merger of the two products may not be as easy as it seems at first glance. “As with any piece of relatively mature technology, it will be difficult to combine the best infrastructure elements of the two offerings, particularly given the very different approaches of the two companies,” says Chris Harris-Jones, principal analyst, technology, at Ovum. He argues that Plumtree has always focused on the end user – enhancing its portal to deliver high-level content management and collaboration functions. BEA’s portal, on the other hand, offers more in-depth facilities for software developers, which can be difficult for the business user to develop.

But Harris-Jones is confident that the partnership could ultimately prove very successful. “Assuming there are no hidden compatibility issues, it should be possible for BEA to exploit Plumtree’s comprehensive set of portlets very rapidly,” he adds.

The transaction, which is subject to regulatory and Plumtree shareholder approval, is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

www.bea.com
www.plumtree.com