Oracle to buy cloud-based social marketing platform Vitrue

Oracle Corp has agreed to buy cloud-based social marketing platform Vitrue, the enterprise software giant's third cloud-computing acquisition in just five months.

The move comes a day after arch rival SAP AG agreed to acquire cloud-based business and commerce network company Ariba Inc for $4.3 billion. (See: SAP to acquire Ariba Inc for $4.3 bn).

Oracle did not disclose the financial terms of the Virtue deal, but TechCrunch said that the software giant paid $300 million.

Founded in 2006 by its CEO Reggie Bradford, the former chief marketing officer for WebMD, Vitrue offers the industry's most scalable and secure cloud-based social marketing solution, enabling brands to harness the full marketing potential of social links on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube and emerging platforms.

The Atlanta-based company's platform collectively manages more than one billion social relationships in over 100 countries across more than 4,500 social accounts for its clients.

Virtue helps the marketing department of companies to access and update accounts on social networking sites. The company counts McDonald's, Procter & Gamble, American Express, YouTube, AT&T and Best Buy among its clients.