SAP AG today announced its intent to acquire TechniData AG, the world’s leading provider of product safety and environmental, health and safety (EHS) solutions. Through this acquisition, SAP intends to expand its sustainability product portfolio as well as its market and thought leadership in sustainability.

Based in Markdorf, Germany, TechniData has been an SAP partner for more than 15 years, and has helped shape SAP’s sustainability offerings in the EHS arena. Employing nearly 500 people, TechniData provides systems integration, managed EHS services, regulatory content and software to help companies comply with regulatory challenges in these areas. In a press release issued today, SAP described the acquisition as “the next logical step between two companies that are both driven by the belief that sustainability is core to all business processes in the future.”

SAP anticipates that the acquisition will be completed at the beginning of the third quarter of 2010 and will provide additional details about future plans after the closing of the transaction.

According to Jürgen Schwab, chief executive officer, TechniData AG, “We believe that the scale of SAP’s development and field resources combined with our expertise in the EHS and product safety domains can help us bring the value of sustainability to more customers worldwide.”

This acquisition is in line with SAP’s strategy to complement existing applications and solutions with smart purchases that offer innovative technologies and functional capabilities. The strategy is guided by careful market assessments and focuses on adding value to customers’ investments in SAP, expanding the company’s abilities to support customers and partners in their sustainability approach. Through the acquisition of TechniData, SAP gains both a comprehensive service offering and the talents of accomplished employees with deep knowledge of customer processes as well as SAP products and integration technologies.

“TechniData brings a group of world class sustainability professionals to the SAP family, enriching our combined expertise in sustainability, said Peter Graf, chief sustainability officer and executive vice president of Sustainability Solutions, SAP. “Sustainability is about holistically managing economic, environmental and social risks and opportunities. IT can help organizations execute their sustainability strategies in a way that drives short and long term profitability,” he added.  “SAP and TechniData share this comprehensive view of sustainability. As a result, our customers enjoy more homogeneity of their IT infrastructure, lower cost of integration, and cutting edge sustainability processes combined with comprehensive analytics and reporting capabilities.”