Oracle to Buy NetSuite For US$9.3Billion

Oracle is accelerating its push into cloud services with the agreed takeover of NetSuite for USD 9.3 billion cash. 

Oracle said NetSuite pioneered the idea of cloud computing for business applications already in 1998. NetSuite provides a suite of cloud-based financials, ERP and omnichannel commerce software that services more than 30,000 companies and organizations in more than 100 countries.

The two companies' products are complementary, and NetSuite will benefit from Oracle's bigger scale and distribution. Oracle said it plans to invest in both its own and NetSuite's products going forward, including both distribution and development. 

The acquisition was approved by a committee of independent Oracle directors, as Oracle's

largest shareholder, chairman Larry Ellison, is also a shareholder in NetSuite. Oracle is offering USD 109 per share for NetSuite, a 19 percent premium on the share price the day before the announcement.

The offer is subject to a majority of shares in NetSuite not owned by its management or Oracle affiliated persons is tendered, as well as regulatory approval. This excludes the shares held by Larry Ellison and his associated companies, which make him the biggest existing shareholder in NetSuite with a nearly 40 percent stake as of April. 

Oracle aims to complete the takeover before the end of the year.