Oracle snaps up marketing software maker Responsys for $1.5B
Software giant Oracle said Friday it will buy Responsys, a marketing software maker, for $27 a share, or $1.5 billion.
It's a 38 percent premium of the company's stock price as of Thursday's market close at $19.52.
The San Bruno, California-based company makes software that helps marketing professionals run email, social, and mobile campaigns. According to Oracle, Responsys' board unanimously approved the deal.
More than 450 companies across a range of industries use Responsys to drive revenue, including Lego, LinkedIn, United Healthcare, and Southwest Airlines.
Oracle president Mark Hurd said in prepared remarks: "Our strategy of combining the leaders across complementary technologies signifies Oracle's overwhelming commitment to winning and serving the CMO better than any other software company in the world."
Responsys' chief executive Dan Springer said he "couldn't be more excited" by the news.
Responsys will join Oracle Eloqua. After the close of the transaction, Oracle said it plans to "aggressively invest" in the Oracle Marketing Cloud.
The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2014.