In the wake of a mystery suitor's $1.25-per-share offer for Borland, Micro Focus has upped its offer for the company to $1.50 in an apparent attempt to blow the other suitor out of the water. While an offer of $1.35 would have satisfied Borland from a price standpoint, Micro Focus is clearly sending a signal that it wants to chase off this unnamed third party and get the deal done.
An anonymous financial analyst said that while the new offer sends a strong message, it doesn't really have much impact on the final price of the deal, noting that every 10-cent increase in share price translates to about $7.5 million. He said, "That doesn't seem like much when Micro Focus is guiding analysts to (approximately) $40 million of annual synergies in the long term."
Borland's shareholders are set to vote on the deal July 22, so we'll see if the mystery suitor increases its offer before then, or drops out of the chase.