SAP said on Thursday that it had agreed to acquire Concur Technologies, an enterprise software company based in Seattle, for about $8.3 billion.
Concur makes software that helps companies manage their employees’ travel and expenses, a growing market as international business travel continues to grow.
SAP will pay $129 a share for Concur, a 20 percent premium to Concur’s closing price on Wednesday, expanding the German technology giant’s suite of web services offerings.
“The acquisition of Concur is consistent with our relentless focus on the business network,” Bill McDermott, chief executive of SAP, said in a statement. “We are making a bold move to innovate the future of business within and between companies.”
Acquiring Concur is the latest big deal by SAP, which agreed to buy Ariba, a business-to-business marketplace, for $4.3 billion in 2012. Earlier this year, SAP acquired Fieldglass, which helps companies manage contract employees. SAP has a market value of nearly $100 billion.
“With Ariba, Fieldglass and Concur, SAP is the undisputed business network company,” said Mr. McDermott. “We are redefining how businesses conduct commerce across goods and services, contingent work forces, travel and entertainment.”
Concur is one of the companies to survive the original dot-com boom. Founded in 1993 and taken public in 1998, Concur reported $546 million in revenue for the last full year, continuing a run of sharp sales increases. The company is on track to record $700 million in revenue this year, SAP and Concur said on Thursday.
“We have always been focused on making solutions for real customer problems, and with SAP we have a great opportunity to advance that mission,” Steve Singh, the chief executive of Concur, said in a statement. “We are constantly seeking innovative ways to deliver the best customer experience and we’re excited about leveraging SAP technology,” he added, “as we scale globally.”
Concur shares have risen sharply since the financial crisis but have been essentially flat since the start of the year even as the broader market has risen. The sale will mark a tidy profit for American Express, the credit card company, which owns 13.5 percent of Concur.
Deutsche Bank advised SAP, and Qatalyst, the boutique investment bank founded by Frank Quattrone, advised Concur.