Oracle Acquires ATG

Oracle has agreed to acquire Art Technology Group, Inc. (ATG) a provider of e-commerce software and related on-demand commerce optimization applications. Total acquisition price will be about $1 billion, based on a $6 per share cash merger.

ATG’s e-commerce platform is a cross-channel solution that provides capabilities including merchandising, marketing, content personalization, automated recommendations and live-help services. ATG also offers middleware and business intelligence technologies.

Through this purchase, Oracle is attempting to unify its well-established CRM platform with cross-channel commerce capabilities. In an ATG fact sheet, the company emphasizes that siloing of online and traditional commerce channels leads to duplication of similar business process flows and also prevents efficient delivery of a uniform and seamless customer experience.

By providing what is being positioned as a next-generation, unified CRM-cross-channel commerce platform, the companies hope to improve cross-channel efficiencies and lower the total cost of operation. In addition, deploying a unified CRM and cross-channel commerce solution is expected to increase revenue, streamline common information and integrate processes for more accurate customer targeting and profitable marketing decisions.

Oracle and ATG are also emphasizing that they already share many customers across numerous industries and that their solutions are currently complementary.

Having begun primarily as a database technology provider in the 1970s, Oracle has gradually grown into providing other business applications and then becoming a major enterprise IT player, notably pioneering the Web-based network computing concept in the mid-90s.

More recently, Oracle has been expanding its reach through high-profile acquisitions of best-of-breed vendors. The ATG purchase fits snugly into Oracle’s expansion plans, and more purchases like this are almost sure to follow.

The transaction is expected to close in early 2011 and is subject to customary closing conditions. Until the transaction closes, each company will continue to operate independently, with business as usual. ATG management and employees are expected to join Oracle.