Oracle makes open offer for 20 per cent more of i-flex

Mumbai: The world's biggest database software company Oracle Corporation has offered to acquire an additional 20-per cent stake in i-flex solutions for up to $531 million (around Rs 2,452 crore). The offer has been made through Oracle Global (Mauritius) Ltd, which already holds nearly 55 per cent stake in i-flex.

Oracle's stake in i-flex has recently risen from 47.74 per cent to about 55 per cent at the end of March 2006, following secondary market purchases and a new share sale by I-flex. An additional 20 per cent stake would boost Oracle's holding in i-flex to about 75 per cent.

Oracle Global Mauritius has offered to acquire 1.66 crore equity shares of Rs 5 each of i-flex at a price of Rs1,475 per share, to be paid in cash. The offer price represents a 3.1 per cent premium to i-flex's current closing price of Rs1,430 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

DSP Merrill Lynch is managing the offer on behalf of Oracle Global Mauritius and the person acting in concert, Oracle Corporation. The offer would open on November 6 and close on November 25, i-flex said in a filing with the BSE.

i-flex is a leading provider of IT solutions to the financial services industry with more than 660 customers in over 120 countries. The i-flex portfolio includes Flexicube, a complete banking product suite for retail, consumer, corporate, investment and internet banking, and asset management and investor servicing.

The world's largest enterprise software company, Oracle offers solutions for an entire range of business-database, middleware, business intelligence, business applications, and collaboration.

Oracle Corporation reported a 25 per cent rise in Q4 fiscal 2006 revenues at $4.9 billion and a 27 per cent rise in quarterly net income at $1.3 billion. Total software revenues were up 28 per cent at $4.0 billion.