Boston, MA 12/23/2013 (wallstreetpr) – Responsys Inc (NASDAQ:MKTG), the maker of web-based marketing software is to be acquired by Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) the number two business software maker of the world at an estimated cost of about $1.5 billion, thus, upping the ante in the era of technology companies acquiring the marketing software makers.
Statement by Oracle
According to the statement issued by Responsys Inc (NASDAQ:MKTG), Oracle will pay $27 a share in cash and has a target for completion of the acquisition by first half of next year. Oracle is buying Responsys to increase its dominance in cloud computing offerings.
Goals of Ellison
Larry Ellison, the Chief Executive Officer of Responsys Inc (NASDAQ:MKTG) is concentrating on cloud software to thwart away the competition from a number of rivals such as Workday Inc (NYSE:WDAY) and salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) that offer web-based products at low prices that undercut Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL). Responsys Inc (NASDAQ:MKTG) came late to cloud computing as it is a four decade old company. So, it has set up sales teams that target particular cloud competitors and now the company is trying to be one-stop shop for databases, operating systems and software programs over the Web.
Why Responsys?
Cloud-based software is made by Responsys Inc (NASDAQ:MKTG) that is used by businesses to manage their marketing campaigns across Internet, mobile and emails. The customers of Responsys include United Healthcare, Southwest Airlines, and LinkedIn. The acquisition of this company further expands the cloud initiative of Oracle that remains an important ingredient in Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL)’s success recipe in the coming years. Consolidation can also be triggered in the software industry in the year 2014 because of this deal, as smaller companies continue to look at strategic acquisitions, while the larger companies explore new areas of growth.
Terms of deal
The deal is priced by Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL) at about $1.5 billion and will close by end of the first half of the next year. It is the seventh acquisition of Oracle in the current year and also one of the biggest acquisitions.