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Microsoft, SAP Talked About Merging

Microsoft confirmed on Monday that the company initiated merger talks late last year with enterprise software vendor SAP AG.

"A few months ago, Microsoft ended these discussions due to the complexity of the potential transaction and subsequent integration. There are no intentions to resume these talks," Microsoft said in a statement.

Microsoft does not normally comment on discussions related to potential mergers and acquisitions. The company made an exception this time to pre-empt a surprise courtroom disclosure in the U.S. Justice Department lawsuit to block Oracle's takeover of PeopleSoft.

According to Microsoft, Oracle obtained confidential Microsoft documents relating to the Microsoft-SAP talks in the pretrial discovery process.

About the Author

Scott Bekker is editor in chief of Redmond Channel Partner magazine.

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