Symyx Technologies (MM) (SMMX) News

"SMMX News" Accelrys, Inc. and Symyx Technologies, Inc. Announce Merger Creates a New Leader in Scientific Informatics Software

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Accelrys-Inc-and-Symyx-Technologies-Inc-Announce-Merger-NASDAQ-ACCL-1142357.htm

SAN DIEGO, CA and SANTA CLARA, CA--(Marketwire - April 5, 2010) - Accelrys, Inc. (NASDAQ: ACCL) and Symyx Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMMX) today announced that they have signed a merger agreement that will establish a new leader in scientific informatics software.

The merger, structured as a tax-free, all-stock merger of equals, was approved by both companies' Boards of Directors. On a combined basis, Accelrys and Symyx have a pre-announcement market capitalization of approximately $335 million, cash reserves of approximately $150 million (net of transaction costs), and no debt. Under the terms of the agreement, Symyx shareholders will receive 0.7802 shares of Accelrys common stock for each share of Symyx. Following the completion of the merger, Accelrys and Symyx shareholders will each own approximately 50 percent of the combined company. After a period of initial integration, full year net cost synergy savings are expected to be in the range of $10 million - $15 million. Additionally, the transaction is expected to be materially accretive to Non GAAP Earnings per Share.

The merger is expected to be completed by the end of June 2010, subject to customary closing conditions, shareholder and regulatory approvals.

Max Carnecchia, chief executive officer of Accelrys, will serve as chief executive officer of the combined company. Isy Goldwasser, chief executive officer of Symyx Technologies, will serve a transitional role in the combined company. The company will be headquartered in San Diego, California.

"Scientific R&D organizations are challenged by the need to increase productivity and performance while grappling with budget pressures, restructuring, changes in scientific processes, and globally dispersed operations," said Max Carnecchia, chief executive officer of Accelrys. "These forces are creating profound changes in the processes of scientific discovery and the way R&D teams interact. New software solutions are urgently required to address these fundamental changes, and the merger of Accelrys and Symyx creates a new, leading-force in the industry to address this situation."

"The merger of Accelrys and Symyx creates a differentiated company that is uniquely qualified to advance the state of the scientific informatics software industry," said Isy Goldwasser, chief executive officer of Symyx Technologies. "No other company combines our deep domain knowledge in chemistry, biology and materials science, enterprise software capabilities (in scientific data management, decision support and analytics), professional expert services, and a broad choice of partners. This powerful and synergistic combination with Accelrys allows us to meet the changing needs of our customers by delivering more agile, flexible and open scientific R&D environments through adaptive end-to-end workflow solutions."

The combined company will have more than 1,350 customers, including 29 of the top 30 biopharmaceutical companies, all five top chemical companies, all five top aerospace companies, three of the five top consumer packaged goods companies, a number of top US Federal Government Agencies, as well as many top academic institutions.

Overvalued

Stock is overpriced imho.

Symyx Joins Microsoft BioIT Alliance
Monday March 3, 8:30 am ET

SANTA CLARA, CA--(MARKET WIRE)--Mar 3, 2008 -- Symyx Technologies, Inc. (NasdaqGS:SMMX - News) announced today that it has joined the Microsoft BioIT Alliance, a cross-industry group working to enhance collaboration among life sciences organizations to accelerate the pace of drug discovery and development.

"Comprehensive data integration -- making complex life sciences data easier to manage and easier to share -- requires new levels of cooperation between software companies," said Timothy Campbell, President of Symyx Software. "Symyx is delighted to be part of Microsoft's BioIT Alliance initiative. As a technology leader in integrated laboratory workflow systems, R&D software and research services in the life sciences and related industries, we look forward to working closely with Microsoft's partner community to explore new and better ways of capturing, managing and sharing R&D data. Through improved collaboration, multidisciplinary R&D organizations can solve critical life sciences problems more quickly and bring new products to market with less risk."

Rudy Potenzone, Worldwide Industry Technology Strategist for Pharmaceuticals and BioIT Alliance Coordinator, said: "We are very pleased to welcome Symyx to the BioIT Alliance. Their broad experience and contribution to this community will help the Alliance and its members as we look to expand our activities in the coming months."

The BioIT Alliance is designed to enable collaboration among organizations in the life sciences field in order to shorten the time between discovery of new biological data and the application of that knowledge to human health. Symyx will work with other alliance members to consider innovative ways to address the challenges of data integration, collaboration, and knowledge management and use Microsoft technology to reduce costs, streamline research and market products more effectively.

About Symyx

Symyx Technologies, Inc. is the scientific R&D integration partner to companies in the life sciences, chemicals, energy, electronics and consumer products industries. With scientific R&D under tremendous economic and technical pressure, we help companies reduce R&D risk and enhance R&D productivity to help them bring more and better products to market quickly and cost-effectively. Our integrated technology platform combines Symyx Software (electronic laboratory notebooks, content, laboratory logistics and analysis), Symyx Tools (software-driven integrated workflows) and Symyx Research (collaborative research and directed services) to support the entire R&D process. In October 2007, Symyx acquired MDL Information Systems, Inc., a leading provider of innovative informatics software, databases and services that accelerate successful scientific R&D by improving the speed and quality of scientists' decision making. Information about Symyx, including reports and other information filed by Symyx with the Securities and Exchange Commission, is available at www.symyx.com.

About BioIT Alliance

Formed in 2006, the BioIT Alliance is a cross-industry group working to integrate science and technology in order to accelerate the pace of drug discovery and realize the potential of personalized medicine. Founding members include Accelrys Software Inc., Affymetrix, Inc., Agilent Technologies Inc., Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Applied Biosystems, The BioTeam Inc., Digipede Technologies LLC, Discovery Biosciences Corporation, Geospiza Inc., Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P., Illumina Inc., InterKnowlogy, Microsoft Corporation, Sun Microsystems Inc., The Scripps Research Institute, VizX Labs LLC and other key companies in the pharmaceutical, biotech, hardware and software industries. Additional information about the BioIT Alliance can be found on the BioIT Alliance Web site at http://www.bioitalliance.org

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NasdaqGS:MSFT - News) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. For more information, please visit www.microsoft.com

Symyx is a registered trademark of Symyx Technologies, Inc. Microsoft is a registered trademark of the Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. All rights reserved. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.


Contact:

For more information:
Teresa J. Thuruthiyil
Vice President, Investor and Public Relations
Symyx Technologies, Inc.
(408) 773-4075
Email Contact


Source: Symyx Technologies, Inc.

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