Filed at 3:50 a.m. ET
COPENHAGEN -- Software giant Microsoft has offered to buy Danish enterprise software firm Navision for $1.33 billion, the Danish company said on Tuesday.
Microsoft, the world's biggest software company, is offering Navision shareholders 300 crowns per share in cash, 12.4 percent higher than Monday's close of 267 crowns, or the equivalent in Microsoft shares.
``The board of directors has unanimously decided to recommend the offer from Microsoft to its shareholders,'' Navision said in a statement.0732 GMT it traded at 296.50 crowns.
The offer confirms media reports last week which sent Navision shares more than 20 percent higher to 265 crowns.
Navision, which is 56.5 percent owned by its five founders, is already a key partner for Microsoft. It is one of Europe's leading manufacturers of software that helps medium-sized businesses run their operations and finances.software unit Great Plains from the U.S., Microsoft would become one of the world's leading providers of business planning software to mid-sized companies. This is a high-growth market segment in which the Redmond-based firm has decided to expand.
Microsoft is already the world's biggest software company with a dominant position in desktop software, including its operating system Windows and its Office software for word processing, spreadsheets and presentations.
Navision produces software only and has little or no consulting or service operations, instead relying on partners. Its European peers include, among others, Britain's Sage Group and Netherlands-based Exact.
Shares in Navision traded at a 12-month high of 287 crowns last month. Its record high was 999 crowns in January 2000.
In connection with the announcement of the Microsoft offer, Navision also released its third quarter earnings report. Earnings before interest, tax and amortization (EBITA) in the three months to end-March were 45 million crowns, below a Reuters analyst average forecast of 53 million crowns.
Third quarter sales were 380 million crowns, slightly below market consensus.
