Siebel scotches Microsoft acquisition talk

NEWS Tom Siebel, CEO of Siebel Systems, has denied rumours that Microsoft is set to either acquire or make an investment in the business applications company. During a third-quarter earnings call, Siebel addressed recent analyst reports which suggested Microsoft will soon make a minority investment in Siebel in conjunction with an expanded marketing and development partnership. The CEO confirmed that the company plans to make an announcement next week about its relationship with the software giant, but added that "it is not Microsoft buying Siebel or Microsoft making an equity investment in Siebel." Over the past few weeks Wall Street has buzzed over the possibility of a Siebel acquisition. Microsoft has been on the acquisition path recently, in an effort to take a greater stake of the market for corporate applications, the kind developed by Siebel, SAP, Oracle and PeopleSoft. Siebel is the biggest player in the multibillion-dollar CRM market. Microsoft is planning to break into that market later this year with the introduction of its own CRM applications, designed to help companies streamline sales, marketing and customer service activities. Siebel recently raised a few eyebrows when it booked Microsoft chairman Bill Gates as keynote speaker at its customer conference this month. Alorie Gilbert writes for News.com