SAP SE, which recently agreed to divest its stake in Qualtrics International Inc., is open to making acquisitions again if they are a “strategic fit,” Chief Financial Officer Dominik Asam said.
Asam spoke to Bloomberg after the announcement of a €5 billion ($5.4 billion) share buyback, precipitated by the company’s Qualtrics sale. The scale of that repurchase effort won’t limit the company’s ability to pursue deals if they make sense, he said.
“There is no pressure on us to do acquisitions, but, should there be opportunities, we are prepared for that still — even after that share repurchase,” Asam said.
Read More: SAP Plans Up to €5 Billion in Share Buybacks Through 2025
Shares rose 1.4% to €122.98 at 9:54 a.m. in Frankfurt on Wednesday.
The CFO said the divestiture, which values Qualtrics business at $12.5 billion, is “on track” for the second half of 2023.
SAP, Europe’s biggest software company, also plans to move away from providing long-term guidance after 2025. Asam explained that the “ambiguity and the risks” around setting further-out target are getting too high. “We don’t want to be cornered if we need to react to certain competitor moves,” he said.
The company on Tuesday raised its 2025 revenue target to more than €37.5 billion from more than €36 billion, due in part to increasing earnings from its cloud division and more favorable foreign exchange rates.
(Updates with shares in fourth paragraph.)
