CDC drops Onyx bid, buys another vendor

HONG KONG -- CDC Corp., a Hong Kong-based company that owns a variety of software and IT services firms worldwide, has withdrawn its bid for a majority stake in Onyx Software Corp. The decision ends the specter of a drawn-out struggle for control of the Bellevue, Wash.-based CRM vendor.

Separately, CDC reached an agreement to buy JRG Software Inc., a San Mateo, Calif.-based provider of hosted supply-chain management software for packaged goods manufacturers. The purchase price wasn't disclosed.

CDC said on Jan. 20 that it was discontinuing its attempt to win over Onyx's board of directors, citing the board's resistance to further discussions as well as Onyx's climbing stock price. The announcement came two weeks after the Onyx board rejected CDC's offer to pay up to $50 million for a majority ownership position.

Steven Chan, CDC's acting CEO, said in a statement that the company will continue to seek willing acquisition targets in the business applications market. Since 2003, CDC has acquired vendors such as Pivotal Corp. and Ross Systems Inc.