JDA Snaps Up i2 as Mergers Accelerate in '09

By  Christina Zarrello
Merger and acquisition activity has picked up tremendous speed over the past year. JDA is the latest to join several other technology companies that have announced a major merger over the past year after publicizing last week it would acquire i2 Technologies.

Here's a look back at some of the major acquisitions and mergers that shook retailing over the past year.

JDA/i2: JDA announced a definitive agreement to acquire i2 in early November 2009. The JDA announcement comes more than a year after the company announced its original intent to buy the maker of supply chain management software.

NCR/Netkey: The global technology company purchased the assets of Netkey, a provider of kiosk and digital signage software applications in early November 2009.

GSI Commerce/Retail Convergence: The e-commerce and interactive marketing services company acquired Retail Convergence, a Boston-based company that operates RueLaLa.com and SmartBargains.com in late October 2009.

PlayNetwork/Channel M: The provider of integrated media experiences for businesses acquired Channel M, a producer of customized in-store TV networks in late October 2009.

IBM/SPSS: IBM bought software developer SPSS in late July 2009, expanding its software portfolio to include predictive analytics.

SAP/SAF: SAP announced its intent to purchase SAF Simulation, Analysis and Forecasting AG in late July 2009. Through the intended acquisition, SAP plans extend its current planning, forecasting and replenishment solution portfolio.

Oracle/Sun: Oracle announced it would acquire Sun Microsystems in late April 2009 making it the company's largest acquisition to date. With this acquisition, Oracle will own two key Sun software assets: Java and Solaris.

DemandTec/Connect3: DemandTec acquired privately-held Connect3 Systems in late February 2009. DemandTec incorporated the Connect3 product suite into its End-to-End Promotion Management solution.