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Open Text to acquire Vignette

Johannesburg, 07 May 2009

Open Text Corporation, a global leader in enterprise content management (ECM) software, and Vignette Corporation, the company that the world's leading brands rely on for innovative and dynamic Web experiences, today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Vignette will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Open Text, in a transaction valued at approximately $310 million.

John Shackleton, President and Chief Executive Officer of Open Text, stated: "The combination of Vignette with Open Text will extend the breadth of our offerings and further Open Text's positioning as the leading independent ECM vendor in the marketplace.

"Vignette's customers represent some of the world's most powerful online brands and we are excited about the opportunity to expand the relationship with these customers and partners," added Shackleton.

"After a thorough evaluation of strategic and financial alternatives, the Vignette Board of Directors believes that today's announcement provides attractive value for our shareholders," continued Mike Aviles, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vignette. "Our shareholders, customers, partners and employees will all benefit as Vignette combines with Open Text.

"Joining Open Text builds on our commitment to deliver the most innovative solutions for our customers and partners. Vignette has an enviable customer base, deep expertise in Web content management (WCM) and global distribution capabilities. Vignette customers will benefit from Open Text's expanded ECM solutions portfolio as well as their Vignette products being supported by the world's largest independent ECM solutions provider," concluded Aviles.

Vignette is based in Austin, Texas, and has approximately 700 employees. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of calendar 2009 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by Vignette's shareholders, Hart-Scott-Rodino anti-trust clearance, Securities and Exchange Commission clearance and stock exchange approvals.

For further information, please contact Rob Shaw: tel 083 626-3811, fax 086 646-4178, e-mail rshaw@opentext.co.za.

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Open Text

Open Text, an enterprise software company and leader in enterprise content management, helps organisations manage and gain the true value of their business content. Open Text brings two decades of expertise supporting 50 million users in 114 countries. Working with our customers and partners, we bring together leading content experts and trade to help organisations capture and preserve corporate memory, increase brand equity, automate processes, mitigate risk, manage compliance and improve competitiveness.

In southern Africa, Open Text's business partners are Accenture, Business Connexion, Datacentrix, Lava Systems, IA Systems and SAP Africa; and, its customer base includes organisations from across both the private and public sectors such as Alexander Forbes, Anglo Platinum, BMW, Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Distell, Engen, Exxaro Resources, Mittal Steel, Office of the President, Provincial Government of the Western Cape, SABMiller, Sasol, Telkom SA and Toyota.

Safe harbour statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This news release may contain forward-looking statements relating to the success of any of the company's strategic initiatives, the company's growth and profitability prospects, the benefits of the company's products to be realised by customers, the company's position in the market and future opportunities therein, the deployment of Open Text ECM Suite and our other products by customers, and future performance of Open Text Corporation. Forward-looking statements may also include, without limitation, any statement relating to future events, conditions or circumstances. Forward-looking statements in this release are not promises or guarantees and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. The risks and uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements include, among others, the failure to develop new products, risks involved in fluctuations in currency exchange rates, delays in purchasing decisions of customers, the completion and integration of acquisitions, the possibility of technical, logistical or planning issues in connection with deployments, the continuous commitment of the company's customers, demand for the company's products and other risks detailed from time to time in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2008. You should not place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which are based on management's beliefs and opinions at the time the statements are made, and the company does not undertake any obligations to update forward-looking statements should circumstances or management's beliefs or opinions change.

Copyright 2009 by Open Text Corporation. OPEN TEXT and OPEN TEXT are trademarks or registered trademarks of Open Text Corporation in the United States of America, Canada, the European Union and/or other countries. This list of trademarks is not exhaustive. Other trademarks, registered trademarks, product names, company names, brands and service names mentioned herein are property of Open Text Corporation or other respective owners.

For more information on Open Text, go to: http://www.opentext.com

Editorial contacts

Paul Booth
Global Research Partners
(082) 568 1179
pabooth@mweb.co.za