09/05/2007

Cognos (NASDAQ: COGN), a provider of business intelligence and performance management solutions, and Applix, Inc. (NASDAQ: APLX), a publicly held company based in Westborough, Massachusetts and a specialist in analytics, today jointly announced the execution of a definitive agreement for Cognos to acquire Applix.

ebizQ received the following details:

With this acquisition, Cognos expects to further extend its position as a leading independent provider of financial performance management.

The planned acquisition is a cash tender offer of $17.87 per share, which equates to approximately $339 million or $306 million net of Applix cash on hand. The transaction is subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Cognos expects the acquisition to be completed in the fourth calendar quarter of 2007.

"This acquisition is a terrific strategic fit for Cognos. Applix will broaden our solution offering and provide Cognos with an innovative, 64-bit, in-memory analytics capability," said Rob Ashe, Cognos CEO. "It will also bring into the company a very strong employee and customer base that has been committed to performance management through high-impact analytics. This is another major step forward for Cognos in delivering leading performance management solutions to finance and across operations."

"We believe that this combination represents a great opportunity for the entire Applix community," said David Mahoney, president and CEO at Applix. "Our customers, partners and employees will become an important part of Cognos, which will allow the company to further enhance its position as a leader in the analytics market. Our organizations are very complementary, and I feel that they will blend together to create a leader in the financial performance management market."

Applix will complement Cognos flagship products -- Cognos 8 Planning, Cognos 8 Controller, and Cognos 8 Business Intelligence -- specifically in the area of financial performance management. Applix performance analytics will give customers new and enhanced capabilities to analyze and optimize financial performance. This will include improved analysis and optimization of large, complex financial performance data; strong finance self-service capabilities such as business rules management; new solution areas including profitability analysis; and innovative technology, including Applix TM1, a patented, 64-bit, in-memory multidimensional OLAP server.

With trailing 12 months revenue of US $61.2 million and year-over-year growth of 45%, Applix is recognized as a leader in the financial analytics market. The company and its global network of partners help more than 3,000 customers worldwide manage their business analytics needs. Customers range across a broad variety of industries including insurance, financial services, banking, healthcare, pharmaceutical, telecommunications, manufacturing, consumer goods and retail. Incorporated in 1983, Applix has been publicly traded since 1994. Applix has also been recognized by numerous industry and analyst groups for being a technical and strategic leader in the marketplace, including being positioned in the Visionaries Quadrant of Gartner's CPM Magic Quadrant.