Business software maker SAP finalized an agreement to acquire cloud-based HR solutions provider Success Factors back in December last year. The deal and the details involved were announced towards the end of that month: SAP said it would pay $3.4 billion for Success Factors, which was then 52 percent higher than the valuation of the company based on its share price. That margin was dramatically shrunk the next trading day when investors realized their knowledge of the transaction.

The two companies worked thing out, but regulators have not.  The merger was extended for the third time, now that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) decided that it will commence on a 45 day investigation into the acquisition. It’s set to end on May 5, and follows a 30-day initial review period.

“We’re working with CFIUS and hopeful we can conclude this process quickly,” Dever said. “We look forward to closing the transaction in the first quarter,” reports PCWorld.

Dever said he knew of nothing going awry with the merger, and pointed to SAP’s acquisition of Business Objects several years ago, which saw a similar delay while awaiting regulatory approval.”

Another thing that Success Factors shares with Business Objects is its significance for SAP. The latter could put its cloud technology and resources into good use as a part of a very extensive strategy to expand in this field, not to mention the HR software that fits in rather nicely with SAP’s BI portfolio and clients’ demands.

SAP is counting on Success Factors’ continual growth. Not long after the acquisition was announced we reported that the newly-added subsidiary will retain a sizable portion of its independence to be able to continue doing things as expected. One of the first moves was the $110 million buyout of Jobs2Web.