CDC makes new move at CRM with higher Onyx offer

CDC Software today increased its offer for Onyx Software Corp. in the wake of the announcement that Onyx rejected CDC's advances, citing the poor performance of CDC's software division and the dilutive effect to shareholders, and claiming that Onyx was not for sale. However, the offer did lead the Onyx board to hire investment banking firm Piper Jaffrey to advise the company on its options. That eventually led to the agreement with M2M Holdings, said Janice Anderson, Onyx's CEO. The move was primarily an equity play, helping Onyx avoid the significant regulatory costs involved with legislation such as Sarbanes-Oxley, rather than integrating Onyx's CRM with M2M's software for small and midsized manufacturers.

"They're really very distinct markets," Anderson said, following the M2M announcement. "They want to do some complementary acquisitions. Now customers know they'll be backed by some very deep pockets."

For more on CDC/Onyx See why CDC withdrew its earlier offer Learn what consolidation means for CRM

But CDC, which During its initial offer, CDC suggested that its customer base in home building, asset management, and manufacturing complemented Onyx's government, healthcare and insurance customers.

Robert Craig, director of public relations for Onyx, said Piper Jaffrey would evaluate the offer and make a recommendation to the board of directors. Last week, Onyx filed a preliminary proxy statement regarding the M2M offer, but a vote has not been scheduled.