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Oracle to acquire MetaSolv

Acquisition campaign continues with $219 million deal for company that serves telecommunications providers.

Dawn Kawamoto Former Staff writer, CNET News
Dawn Kawamoto covered enterprise security and financial news relating to technology for CNET News.
Dawn Kawamoto
Oracle on Monday announced plans to pay $219 million for MetaSolv Software, which specializes in serving the telecommunications business.

MetaSolv develops software designed to automate the process of ordering and activating service for wireless, wired and voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service providers. The company also offers software designed to help carriers manage their network operations.

The cash deal is one of a number of acquisitions the software giant has made in the past couple of years as it seeks to fill out its portfolio of products and services, Oracle Co-president Charles Phillips said during a keynote speech Sunday at the company's OpenWorld customer conference, being held this week in San Francisco.

Oracle is looking to add to its database and Fusion Middleware software stack by acquiring companies in a variety of specialized fields. Phillips noted that the cost required to integrate these acquisitions can be incremental because Oracle already has the framework in place to handle the process. The newly purchased companies, in essence, are plugged into Oracle's existing mergers-and-acquisitions machinery, which gives them quick access to international markets and Oracle's vast distribution network.

The MetaSolv deal is expected to close by the end of the year or early next year, depending on shareholder and regulatory approval.