Oracle Partners: Micros Systems Deal Will Attract More Retail, Hospitality Customers

Oracle on Monday made it official: It's plunking down $5.3 billion to acquire Micros Systems, a Columbia, Md.-based vendor of point-of-sale software and hardware for the retail, hospitality and hotel industries.

Oracle is paying $68 per share for Micros Systems. Pending regulatory approval, it would be Oracle's largest deal since its $7.2 billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems, which closed in early 2010.

Micros Systems, founded in 1977, says its technology is currently running at some 330,000 customer sites around the world. The vendor sells point-of-sale systems to stadiums, theme parks, casinos and cruise ships, and it also markets its own point-of-sale tablet and docking station to customers with mobile point-of-sale needs.

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Oracle missed Wall Street's profit and revenue expectations in its fourth quarter earnings last week and is looking for a way to jump-start growth in new areas. Oracle partners believe acquiring Micros Systems could help it achieve this goal.

Seth Feeley, sales director at Cintra, a New York-based Oracle partner, sees Micros Systems as a way for Oracle to extend its industry focus into the hospitality space, while also expanding its retail portfolio with additional applications and hardware.

"I can see a natural synergy between Micros Systems and Oracle's cloud services and platform as a service strategy," Feeley told CRN. "Plus, there is significant big data and business intelligence potential from owning the entire platform of hardware plus applications and technology software."

Troy Lutes, senior vice president of Oracle solutions at Hitachi Consulting, said the Micros Systems acquisition "really changes the conversation" Oracle can have with its retail and hospitality customers by filling out important pieces of its portfolio.

"A fully integrated business process, from the restaurant floor to the purchasing department, is now on the table," Lutes told CRN.

In a research note to clients, Wells Fargo Securities said industry-specific apps -- which is what Micros Systems sells -- are an untapped market that hasn't yet seen a dominant vendor emerge. Buying Micros Systems could open up "a big white space market opportunity" for Oracle, analysts from Wells Fargo Securities said.

Micros' management team and employees will be part of a "dedicated business" in Oracle's Industry organization, the Redwood Shores, Calif.-based vendor said in an FAQ about the deal.

"Oracle plans to extend and expand Micros' ability to sell, service and support customers around the world by utilizing Oracle’s global scale and resources," Oracle said in the FAQ.

Micro Systems' shares had been trading between $50 and $60 this year, but zoomed past $70 last Tuesday after Bloomberg reported that Oracle was in talks to acquire the company.

Micros Systems rose 3.3 percent in Monday trading to close at $67.98. Oracle shares rose 28 cents to $41.10.

Micros Systems' board has already approved the deal, and the vendors expect the deal to close sometime in the second half of the year.