Geac delay leaves JBA in limbo

The future of UK ERP specialist and IBM reseller JBA Holdings was uncertain last week, as it emerged that its prospective owner Geac Computer may seek to extend the offer period of its takeover bid.

Canadian software vendor Geac tabled a £250p-a-share bid for JBA on 22 July and the first offer period was due to end last Friday. But Geac needs approval from 90 per cent of shareholders to complete the deal in its current form.

As PC Dealer went to press, Canadian reports suggested that the offer period could be extended.

A spokeswoman for JBA in the UK confirmed that the official close date for the offer was 27 August, but said: "If there was an extension of the offer period, then this would be typical in this situation."

The spokeswoman declined to speculate on the likelihood or the length of an extension.

Although the offer by Geac was unanimously endorsed by the boards of both companies, it emerged soon after the bid was tabled that two main shareholders, Specialist Computer Holdings (SCH) and Lazard Asset Management, which together hold almost 25 per cent of the business, were unhappy with its £92.5m valuation (PC Dealer, 28 July).

Industry sources speculated at the time that Peter Rigby, chairman of SCH, could be interested in making a counter bid for JBA, but no further movements have been made by the Midlands reseller.

JBA's shares shot to a yearly high of 257.5p following the Geac offer, and were trading at about 236.5p last Friday afternoon.

SCH declined to comment on the situation.

- Geac's Atlanta subsidiary, Geac Computer Systems, bought the software divisions of fellow Atlanta operation Clarus for C$25m last week. The agreement further enhances Geac's mid-market ERP capabilities.