Seeking to build up its cloud-based offerings, Oracle announced it has agreed to acquire NetSuite for $9.3 billion. The transaction is expected to close this year, pending regulatory approval.
The acquisition enables Oracle to reinforce its cloud-based products in key verticals such as accounting, CRM and sales force automation. NetSuite’s products will still be available to customers through its existing channels.
“Oracle and NetSuite cloud applications are complementary, and will coexist in the marketplace forever,” said Mark Hurd, Co-CEO of Oracle, in a statement. “We intend to invest heavily in both products —engineering and distribution.”
NetSuite said the pairing with Oracle is “a winner” for the company’s customers, employees and partners.
“NetSuite will benefit from Oracle’s global scale and reach to accelerate the availability of our cloud solutions in more industries and more countries,” added NetSuite CEO Zach Nelson, in a statement.
Asked to speculate about Oracle’s next potential acquisition targets, Suketu Gandhi, a partner in the digital transformation practice of A.T. Kearney, told Retail TouchPoints. “They will look for more ‘cooked’ rather than ‘raw’ acquisitions, perhaps in the human capital management space, as well as campaign management and online engagement of the customer.”
* Adam Blair, Executive Editor of Retail TouchPoints, contributed to this story. *
