Walldorf, Germany August 24, 2001 e-Business software company SAP AG today announced it has received all necessary approvals from U.S. antitrust authorities for its additional investment in Commerce One, and that the acquisition has been closed. Through the additional investment, SAP now owns slightly more than 20 percent of Commerce One outstanding common stock.
As stated in the July 19 second quarter earnings release, as a result of surpassing the 20 percent ownership threshold in Commerce One, SAP will be required to use the equity method of accounting to record, in finance income, a portion of Commerce One's net income or loss based upon SAP's investment percentage. Under U.S. GAAP, the equity method must also be applied retroactively to improve comparability. Finance income will thus be restated to include 2.6 percent and 4.4 percent of Commerce One's first and second quarter loss, respectively as well as other acquisition related adjustments.
