Tibco confirms 'strategic review' that could lead to sale

Private equity firms reportedly lining up to acquire Tibco

Software tools maker Tibco, best know for its message queueing technology, is undergoing a strategic review of its business, which could lead to the closure of product lines or acquisition.

The review was initiated by the company's board in mid-August with the formation of a special committee of independent directors and the result will be intended to "maximize shareholder value".

According to the Wall Street Journal, the company has been approached by a number of organisations over a potential takeover, including by private equity firms, like BMC Software, which was acquired by a combination of Bain Capital and Golden Gate Capital in May 2013.

Earlier this month, rival software tools maker Compuware also went private in a deal that saw it get snapped up by private equity firm Thoma Bravo.

Tibco's most lucrative line is its suite of messaging software, which is used by financial exchanges to make sure that information is disseminated to all subscribers equally quickly. It is, however, facing challenges from an increasing number of open source initiatives, such as the advanced message queueing protocol (AMQP), which threaten to commoditise the market.

That would, however, enable a wider range of message queueing software to be deployed in sectors that haven't previously been able to deploy such technology. For example, Smith Electric Vehicles uses AMQP-based messaging software to acquire vehicle telemetry data from its vans being used all over the world, helping to identify and fix problems as they emerge before the vehicles break down.