Oracle buys software maker Carleton

The database software giant announced that it has purchased Carleton, a maker of software for extracting information from mainframe computers, in an $8.7 million cash deal. Oracle will offer holders of Carleton common stock approximately $2.45 per share, the company said.

Carleton makes software that is used to pull data from massive mainframe databases into data warehousing systems. Oracle intends to use the software to let business users access information through Oracle's customer relationship management software. Data warehouses cull information from many sources into a single database and typically contain customer data, or sales information, for example.

Carleton's software also gives Oracle new tools for ensuring data quality. For instance, a single customer name might be misspelled or filed in a variety of ways in various corporate databases. Data "scrubbing" software validates those entries so that data is accurate and more useful.

Carleton is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. Oracle, based in Redwood Shores, California, did not announce whether Carleton employees will be relocated or whether any layoffs are planned. Oracle representatives did not return phone calls this morning. The deal is subject to conditions, such as retention of Carleton's employees, an Oracle representative told Reuters.

Carleton reported revenues of $1.3 million and net income of $539,000 for the quarter ended June 28.

Carleton shares were down .27 at 2.28 in early afternoon Nasdaq trading. Oracle shares were down 1.44 at 58.