Oracle buying e-commerce provider ATG for $1 billion

By Geoff Duncan November 2, 2010

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Database giant Oracle has announced it has reached an agreement to acquire ecommerce systems provider Arts Technology Group (ATG) in a cash merger for $6 per share, meaning the total will come to about $1 billion. ATG primarily develops front-end systems for online merchants and e-commerce sites, including systems that provide automatic product recommendations, content personalization, merchandizing, and customer support for online storefronts. Oracle says the acquisition of ATG’s front-facing services and technologies will fit easily with Oracle’s existing back-end database-driven services like inventory and transaction management, customer analytics, retail management, and supply-chain management solutions.

“Organizations across many industries are looking for a unified commerce and CRM platform to provide a seamless experience across all commerce channels,” said Oracle Development executive VP Thomas Kurian, in a statement. “Bringing together the complementary technologies and products from Oracle and ATG will enable the delivery of next-generation, unified cross-channel commerce and CRM.”

ATG’s customers include firms like Best Buy, AT&T, and CVS drugstores.

The acquisition marks not only the latest salvo in high-dollar acquisitions among major enterprise and database vendors like HP and IBM, but also seems to indicate Oracle is increasingly focused on integrating traditional retail commerce operations with online commerce—unifying both business operations into one comprehensive system where businesses can easily manage customer relationships (and sales) across online and traditional retail transactions. Of particular interest to Oracle might be ATG’s sophisticated call tracking and click-to-call features, which enable customer contact centers to maintain relationships with customers.

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