In a press release published yesterday, it was announced that Oracle buys Eloqua for $871 million, or $23,50 per share. This is a 31% rise over the Eloqua stock trading price on the day of the announcement. Eloqua currently has more than 250 employee’s.
Eloqua is one of the industry’s top providers of marketing automation and revenue performance management. The fact that Oracle buys Eloqua will mean that its services will be added to Oracle’s Customer Experience Cloud. Eloqua’s board of directors voted yes unanimously on the transaction. Stockholders still need to approve it though, but the acquisition is expected to take effect in the first half of 2013.
A quote from Eloqua CEO Joe Payne:
“Exceptional customer experience starts with knowing your customer’s preferences and delivering a highly personalized buying experience,” said Joe Payne, Chairman and CEO, Eloqua. “Together with Oracle, we expect to accelerate the pace of the modern marketing revolution and help our customers transform the way they market, sell, support and serve their customers.”
Eloqua’s revenue in 2011 was $71 million, a 40% increase over the year: however there was a net loss of $6.2 million. 
This acquisition shows that marketing automation is here to stay, and is growing up: the big guys in the industry like Oracle are taking note and, in this case, with the acquisition of Eloqua, investing in the long run.
The Eloqua press release can be found here, and the Oracle press release can be found here.
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