Hi Guys, I have to agree with you on the merger/takeover...

Hi Guys,

I have to agree with you on the merger/takeover probability. I don't even refer to it as a possibility; more a probability, almost bordering on a certainty. Every Risk Management Exposure manager must now be viewing IT&E or some form of state-of-the-art PROVEN software, particularly those who have only their own internally developed software for this task. And as each day goes by, the risks involved with this are growing exponentially. I would imagine every manager responsible for this risk is now viewing their opposition, and as in most businesses, every manager worth his salt will know what their opposition has or doesn't have as far as Risk Management Exposure Software goes. As with most software out there, I'm sure they all aren't created equal; the differences in profits can be huge when you view the sort of money and the volumes involved.

"When the Bank for International Settlements, based in Basel, Switzerland, conducted its first central bank survey of global foreign exchange trading in April 1989, it estimated the market’s daily turnover at $590 billion, making it the world’s biggest financial market by far. The latest triennial survey by the BIS in April 2004 put the volume of foreign exchange trading at $1.9 trillion daily.
Some market participants estimate that when the next central bank survey is done in April 2007, it could show the volume of trading has continued to grow to about $3 trillion daily. (from a recent post)


Another thing that keeps getting my attention is the number of board members who have a past affiliation with Reuters. I wonder how much of the old-boys-network comes into play in instances such as this?

And then there is Sungard, who I am sure knows most of what there is to know about IT&E in light of being soundly beaten on their own turf recently.
A little background information to put this all in context ...


Channel Insider, The, March, 2005 by Kevin Fogarty

The investor consortium aiming to acquire SunGard Data Systems Inc. announced Tuesday that, if the acquisition succeeds, it will keep the $3 billion IT software and services firm intact. (it succeeded)
...."We think that both businesses are terrific businesses. Our goal and intent is to keep it together and build them together."

And from another site:-


SunGard has been one of the most acquisitive technology companies around, having completed roughly 100 deals since 1986. SunGard's acquisition spree has helped to bolster the company's revenues upwards of 30 percent, year over year, which has helped SunGard weather the severe decline in corporate technology spending.

Despite the numerous acquisitions, the company's balance sheet remains strong. The company has over $300 million in cash.

The company plans to Continue to Reduce its debt levels, which should help lower interest expense. This will also enable the company to make additional acquisitions, without becoming over leveraged.<\i>


Just some food for thought on an otherwise boring Saturday evening.
Next week should be interesting, and hopefully full of good news.

Kind Regards to all holders and thank you once again Robbo for your informative posts and insights.