Shares of online marketing service Responsys (NASDAQ: MKTG) are trading 38% higher this morning as the company received and accepted a $1.5 billion buyout offer from software giant Oracle (ORCL -0.82%). Oracle shares neither surged nor plunged on the announcement, trading sideways this morning.
Responsys investors will receive $27 per share in cash when the deal closes. The companies expect to complete the merger in the first half of 2014, pending regulatory approvals and a majority of Responsys' shares being tendered into Oracle's offer.
Including the buyout premium, Responsys shares have more than quadrupled in price during the last year.
Responsys designs software that helps online marketers orchestrate their advertising campaigns across various platforms and media. The company will integrate with Eloqua, Oracle's own online marketing platform.
Oracle says that the combination creates a uniquely complete online marketing tool belt. "For the first time, companies will be empowered to orchestrate individualized experiences that extend from Marketing, to Commerce, to Sales, to Service, to Support," said Thomas Kurian, Oracle's head of software development.
