April 12, 2006
Oracle to buy Portal Software
Oracle will pay $220M for maker of billing and revenue management software
Recommend ThisOracle intends to make another vertical-market acquisition, announcing plans Wednesday to offer about $220 million to acquire Portal Software, a maker of billing and revenue management software for the communications and media industry.
The database and applications company is making a cash tender offer of $4.90 per share. Subject to regulatory and other approvals, Oracle expects the transaction to close in June.
Portal's software enables communications companies to bill and manage a wide range of services including wireline and wireless phones, broadband, cable, VoIP (voice over Internet Protocol), IP television, music and video. Oracle said it will integrate its ERP (enterprise resource planning) applications and the CRM (customer relationship management) software it acquired through the purchase of Siebel with Portal's billing and revenue management capabilities. Over time, Oracle may consider expanding use of Portal's software to other industries.
Although attention has been more heavily focused on Oracle's recent acquisitions in the open-source arena, picking up database engine vendors Sleepycat and Innobase, the company has continued steadily buying up software companies in a range of verticals -- Retek in retail, i-flex in financial services and TimesTen and HotSip in the communications industry. Oracle is also busy integrating the applications it gained through the multibillion dollar purchases of both Siebel and ERP and CRM player PeopleSoft.
The bulk of Portal's customers, 96 percent, also use Oracle's database, while 57 percent of Portal customers already use Oracle's applications. Portal's software is in use at 240 installations in 60 countries supporting over 150 million live subscribers.
Portal's management and staff will form a global communications business unit focused on billing and revenue management. Bhaskar Gorti, Portal's senior vice president of worldwide sales, services and marketing, is set to head up the unit, with Dave Labuda, Portal's founder and chief executive officer, becoming the unit's chief technology officer.
Oracle is due to hold a conference call for customers and partners to discuss the proposed acquisition Thursday. Portal's Labuda and Gorti are due to be on the call along with Oracle President Charles Phillips.
Oracle has set up a special page on its Web site with information about the proposed acquisition.
White Paper
D2D Virtual Tape Library Replication Primer
This whitepaper explains the terminology and concepts behind Data Replication technologies and establishes some sizing rules through worked examples. Learn the new paradigm in disaster tolerance—protect data anywhere.
Download now »
White Paper
An Alternative to Virtualization for Datacenter Cost Savings
Server virtualization is a popular option for dealing with mounting datacenter costs. Another equally promising approach is the use of an Application Delivery Controller. Citrix NetScaler provides a low-cost way for organizations to reduce their server count and accrue cost savings from a reduction in space, cooling, power and personnel.
Download now »
White Paper
Why Your Firewall, VPN, and IEEE 802.11i Aren't Enough to Protect Your Network
The emergence of WLANs has created a new breed of security threats to enterprise networks.
Included in HP ProCurve WLAN solutions is security technology that alleviates threats from WLANs through:
* Monitoring wireless activity inside and out of the enterprise
* Classifying WLAN transmissions into harmful and harmless
* Preventing transmissions that pose a security threat to the enterprise network
* Locating participating devices for physical remediation
White Paper
Bringing the Edge to the Data Center
Effectively address data protection challenges, implementing solutions that help store and protect business–critical data while cutting costs and improving efficiency and reliability.
Download now »
- Opportunities and Challenges with the Convergence of Data Center Networks | White Paper
- Network Operating System Evolution | White Paper
- How Operating Systems Create Network Efficiency | White Paper
- Data Center Survival Guide | White Paper
- Three Solutions to Common Data Integration Challenges | Webcast
Sign up to receive Data Management Resource Alerts
Maximize your IT Budget with the Fujitsu Dynamic CubeToday’s IT means business. New eBook shows you how to align your IT investments.A new level of interoperability. Make IT Work As One at novell.comLimited-time offer: Save up to $100 on Polycom phones. 64-page prescriptive guide to security, compliance, and IT operations.Drive innovation with Intel and Open Source softwareLinux Contributions and Support from IntelLearn about Foundations of Green IT, from CTO Marty PoniatowskiIncrease UPS efficiency without sacrificing protectionIn less than 45 minutes, Palisade Systems protects your data
See how AT&T can help protect your network. Make IT Work As One at novell.comHP ProLiant G6 Servers. Perform like a superstar, Save like an accountant.HP ProLiant G6 Servers. Perform like a superstar, Save like an accountant.Unified Communications: Thoughts, Strategies and Predictions. Join the discussionOptimize Linux* for high performance and energy efficiency on Intel® architectureSee how Intel is working across the Open Source ecosystem to help drive rapid technological innovationTDWI checklist helps define data readiness for analytics. Download report.<802.11n Drives an Architectural EvolutionSee IBM CloudBurst's self-service user interface in action
