Oracle Said to be Near Deal to Buy Micros Systems

6/18/2014
A story on Bloomberg News is reporting that Oracle Corp. is nearing a deal to buy Micros Systems Inc. for more than $5 billion, people familiar with the matter said, as Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison moves to combat slowing growth by adding software for hotels and restaurants.

Oracle and Micros are in exclusive talks, though the two sides could still fail to reach an agreement, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing a private matter.

Ellison is looking to acquisitions to fuel expansion after 10 quarters of sluggish sales growth. Oracle was late to the market for Internet-based cloud software and is now rushing to remake itself as a provider of gear and programs to underpin its clients’ shift to Web-based computing.

Deborah Hellinger, a spokeswoman for Oracle, declined to comment. Peter Rogers, executive vice president of investor relations at Micros, didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment.

Oracle will report its quarterly earnings on Thursday. In the previous quarter, license and cloud-subscription revenue fell short of analysts’ estimates.

The company has spent $50 billion to acquire about 100 companies in the past decade. Of those, more than 20 have been geared at specific industries, including the 2010 acquisition of clinical-trial software maker Phase Forward Inc., and purchases of retailer-software makers ProfitLogic Inc. and Retek Inc. in 2005.

The acquisition of Micros would be Oracle’s largest since the $5.7 billion takeover of Sun Microsystems Inc., announced in 2009, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

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