E-Commerce software and application provider Art Technology Group Inc. (ATG), has been acquired by Oracle Corporation for $6 per share in cash, or approximately $1 billion. The transaction is subject to stockholder and regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close by early 2011, according to a press release.
ATG’s E-Commerce software platform is an industry provider of cross-channel commerce solution and is complementary to Oracle’s CRM, ERP, Retail, and Supply Chain applications. The companies’ fusion is expected to help businesses grow revenue, strengthen customer loyalty, improve brand value, achieve better operating results, and increase business agility across online and traditional commerce environments.
“This is a significant move by Oracle,” said Sahir Anand, Retail Research Director at Aberdeen Group. “This will have cross-channel retail technology impact for tier 1 and tier 2 retailers including current Oracle customers who can benefit from ATG’s cross-channel commerce capabilities. An effective move by Oracle at the right time as the cross-channel retailing is growing rapidly.”
Advertisement
ATG recently announced the release of their new Commerce 10 suite, which is designed to create an efficient way to juggle work tasks for merchandisers — including site management and cross-channel capabilities for merchandising, marketing and selling operations — to create a solid customer experience online and in-store. The company will be holding a virtual demonstration of the suite November 10.
“Driven by the convergence of online and traditional commerce and the need to increase revenue and improve customer loyalty, organizations across many industries are looking for a unified commerce and CRM platform to provide a seamless experience across all commerce channels,” said Thomas Kurian, EVP, Oracle Development. “Bringing together the complementary technologies and products from Oracle and ATG will enable the delivery of next-generation, unified cross-channel commerce and CRM.”
“More than 1,000 global enterprises rely on ATG’s solutions to help increase the value of their online customer interactions,” said Bob Burke, President and CEO, ATG. “This combination will enhance the ability to bring all their commerce activities together – creating a more consistent and relevant experience for their customers across all interaction channels, including online, in stores, via mobile devices and with call centers.”
ATG’s revenue for the third quarter of 2010 grew to $50.3 million, a 16% increase from $43.4 million last year. The company’s cash flow from operations also experienced an increase of 51% at the end of 2010’s third quarter, from $9.9 million in the end of the 2009 third quarter, to $14.9 million.
