SAP?s subsidiary, SAP America, Inc., has entered into an agreement to acquire Ariba Inc., a cloud-based business commerce network, for $45.00 per share, representing an enterprise value of approximately $4.3 billion.

The acquisition will combine Ariba?s buyer-seller collaboration network with SAP?s customer base and business process expertise to create new models for business-to-business collaboration in the cloud.

The Ariba board of directors has unanimously approved the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of calendar year 2012, subject to Ariba stockholder approval, clearances by relevant regulatory authorities and other customary closing conditions.

Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, Ariba has approximately 2,600 employees. The company is a leader in cloud-based collaborative commerce applications and the second-largest cloud vendor by revenue.

Upon completion of the transaction, it is planned to consolidate all cloud-related supplier assets of SAP under Ariba. The existing management team will continue to lead Ariba, which will operate as an independent business under the name "Ariba, an SAP company."