Oracle paying $871 million for cloud computing software firm Eloqua

Grazed from PRNewsWire. Author: PR Announcement.

Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) has agreed to buy Eloqua Inc. for about $871 million to further expand into cloud computing amid competition from SAP AG and Salesforce.com Inc. Oracle said Thursday that buying Eloqua will bolster its "cloud" technology for helping companies make decisions on their marketing, sales and customer support. Cloud computing refers to the concept of making software available for anyone with an Internet-connected device, rather than installing it on company computers.

The $23.50-per-share offer is more than twice Eloqua’s initial public offering price in August and 31 percent higher than the close Wednesday. The board of Eloqua, whose Internet-based software is used in marketing and revenue-performance management, approved the deal, according to a statement…

Oracle Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison has been using acquisitions — spending $3.3 billion on RightNow Technologies Inc. and Taleo Corp. this year — to add cloud-computing software that customers can access online instead of storing it on their servers. It helped bolster profit margins as companies from Workday Inc. to Microsoft Corp. offer rival products.

Eloqua, based in Vienna, Virginia, brings products that help companies tailor and measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, ranging in price from $2,000 a month for 4-10 users to $6,400 a month for 250 users.

Web-based software lets companies save money by using programs via the cloud instead of storing them on their own servers. The $871 million price is net of Eloqua’s cash.

The acquisition, which still needs approval from Eloqua shareholders, is expected to close in 2013’s first half.