Mergers, Acquisitions and Takeovers Case Study

Oracle's acquisition of Siebel

OR

Abstract:

In 2005, Oracle Corporation (Oracle), the world’s largest enterprise software company, with offices in more than 145 countries, employed over 50, 000 people. In fiscal 2005, its revenues were US$ 11,799 million. Siebel Systems Inc. (Siebel), marketed CRM applications tailored for various industries. In early 2001, Siebel faced a financial crisis as many of its customers switched to companies which offered an integrated suite instead of specialised applications at a lesser cost. In September 2005, Oracle decided to acquire Siebel for US$ 5.8 billion. The acquisition completed in early 2006, added 4,000 customers, 3.4 million CRM users and front end enterprise applications into its portfolio.

Oracle competed with SAP AG for the number one player in the global enterprise software business. However, Oracle faced competition from niche players like Salesforce.com and RightNow Technologies which provided business software services to its customers at lower prices. The case study highlights the acquisition of Siebel, synergies attained and impact of the acquisition on the global software market.

Pedagogical Objectives:

• To discuss the pros and cons of Oracle’s Siebel Acquisition
• To understand the IT industry structure
• To debate on the synergies and liabilities created by the acquisition.

Keywords : Global Business Applications Industry;Mergers,Acquisitions,Alliances Case Study; Oracle Growth; Siebel acquisition; Oracle’s Competitive advantage; Acquisition Synergies; Oracle’s Competitors; Customer Relationship Management; Oracle’s e-Business suite; Software market; Project fusion; Software services industry

Contents : 
About Oracle Corporation
About Siebel Systems
Business Applications Scenario
The Siebel Acquisition
The Competitive Landscape
Financials of Oracle Corporation
The Strategic Acquisitions by Oracle
The Project Fusion