Cognos, IBM merger clears Canadian regulatory hurdle

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., Dec. 20 - The Commissioner of Competition under the Competition Act (Canada) issued an advance ruling certificate in the proposed merger of Cognos Inc. and IBM Corp.

The ruling constitutes compliance with the pre-merger notification requirements under the Competition Act (Canada), according to a company news release.

IBM agreed to acquire Cognos in an all-cash transaction valued at $4.9 billion as part of its Information on Demand strategy.

Cognos shareholders are set to vote on the $58-per-share merger agreement at a special meeting on Jan. 14.

The merger has already been granted early termination of the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period by the Federal Trade Commission.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2008.

In September, Cognos announced it would acquire Applix, Inc. for $17.87 per share, or about $339 million. That transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2007. Applix is a business analytics software solutions company based in Westborough, Mass.

Cognos is a business intelligence and performance management software solutions company located in Ottawa.

IBM, based in Armonk, N.Y., develops computer systems, software, storage systems and microelectronics.

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