Oracle announced today that it will acquire Eloqua, Inc. for approximately $871 million, or $23.50 per share. Eloqua is a provider of cloud-based marketing automation and revenue performance management software. The transaction is expected to close during the first six months of 2013.

“Eloqua’s leading marketing automation cloud will become the centerpiece of the Oracle Marketing Cloud and is an important addition to the Oracle Customer Experience offering, which includes the Oracle Sales Cloud, Oracle Commerce Cloud, Oracle Service Cloud, Oracle Content Cloud and Oracle Social Cloud,” noted Thomas Kurian, Executive Vice President, Oracle Development.

The combined offerings of Oracle and Eloqua are anticipated to help organizations provide a personalized and unified experience across channels, promote brand loyalty through social and online interactions and deliver more qualified sales leads.