Siebel Stock Up Again on Takeover Talk
Tuesday May 3, 3:33 pm ET
Siebel Systems Inc. Shares Climb Amid New Speculation That Software Maker Is Up for Sale
NEW YORK (AP) -- Siebel Systems Inc. stock rose more than 10 percent at one point Tuesday as investors moved back into the business software maker amid a new round of speculation the company might be on the auction block.
The San Mateo, Calif.-based company has seen its stock test new highs during the past few months after Oracle Corp. said it was mulling an acquisition of the company. However, Oracle's recent takeovers of PeopleSoft and Retek caused a number of analysts to dismiss the likelihood another acquisition was imminent.
On Monday, Standard & Poor's and other Wall Street analysts threw water on predictions of a deal -- sending shares lower. One day later, investors moved back into the stock on talk that major shareholders are pushing the company toward a sale -- with billionaire financier Carl Icahn even mentioned as a possible suitor.
"Market participants don't listen to the Street," said Warren West, president of Philadelphia-based Greentree Brokerage Services, in an interview. "Analysts might reject a lot of deals, but there's always someone out there that thinks it can happen."
Siebel shares were among the most actively traded stocks on the Nasdaq in afternoon trading. The stock rose 57 cents, or 6.4 percent, to $9.48 -- still off its 52-week high of $11.50 set last June. Shares traded as high as $10 in the morning. Volume reached 76.6 million shares, up from its 3-month average volume of 16.5 million.
Siebel -- whose products help customers track sales -- has been struggling to appease institutional investors who are critical of the company's falling earnings. Last week, the company swung to a first-quarter loss due to an expected shortfall in license fees as a number of large deals failed to close by the period's end. There also remains growing concern that rivals such as Germany's SAP AG and newcomers like Salesforce.com Inc. are eating into Siebel's market share.
Chairman and founder Tom Siebel ousted J. Michael Lawrie as chief executive shortly after the earnings were released, saying he had not brought about "acceptable performance" since taking the job last May.
Oracle shares rose 3 cents to $11.63 in afternoon trading on the Nasdaq.
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