Oracle Acquires Portal Software

Oracle's spending spree has not slowed down.

On Wednesday, the Redwood Shores, Calif., software titan announced it was acquiring Portal Software in a cash-tender deal valued at approximately $220 million. Portal Software is a Cupertino, Calif.-based company that develops a billing and revenue-management solution aimed at the communications and media industries.

Oracle is expected to add Portal Software's capabilities to its own suite of business applications, according to the company.

In a letter to customers Wednesday, Charles Phillips, president at Oracle, said the company was drawn to Portal Software because the company's billing and revenue management solution sports a modern, object-oriented architecture -- built on Oracle -- that can handle all communications services, including wireline, wireless, broadband, cable, voice over IP, IPTV, music and video.

"Together," Phillips wrote, "we plan to deliver the first end-to-end packaged enterprise software suite for the communications and media industry."

Oracle's acquisition binge includes such major purchases as PeopleSoft -- and by way of extension, J.D. Edwards -- and, more recently, Siebel. Oracle has been filling out its applications offerings, while also pushing a services-oriented middleware strategy around its Oracle Fusion software that delivers better integration with other software instrastructures.

The Portal Software deal is expected to close in June, according to Phillips.