Deal News: Oracle Acquires Acme Packet

Oracle, IBM, The 451 Group and Twitter have announced acquisitions recently:

Oracle to acquire Acme Packet.  Oracle (ORCL) announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Acme Packet (APKT), a global provider of session border control technology, for approximately $1.7 billion. Deployed widely across global enterprises and 89 of the world's top 100 communications companies Acme Packet solutions enable trusted, first-class delivery of next-generation voice, data and unified communications services and applications across IP networks. The combination or Oracle and Acme Packet will deliver an end-to-end portfolio of technologies that will support the deployment, innovation and monetization of all-IP networks. “The proposed acquisition of Acme Packet is another important piece in Oracle’s overall strategy to deliver integrated best-in-class products that address critical customer requirements in key industries,” said Oracle President Mark Hurd. “The addition of Acme Packet to Oracle’s leading communications portfolio will enable service providers and enterprises to deliver innovative solutions that will change the way we interact, conduct commerce, deliver healthcare, secure our homes, and much more.” Shares of Acme Packet gained 22 percent on Monday after the deal was announced.

IBM to acquire Star Analytics.  IBM announced a definitive agreement to acquire the software portfolio of Star Analytics, a privately held business analytics company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Star Analytics software automatically integrates essential information, reporting applications and business intelligence tools across their enterprises, on premise or from cloud computing environments. As a compliment to IBM's business analytics initiatives, organizations will gain faster access and real-time insight into specialized data sources. "Star Analytics software allows organizations to move critical analytics source data at will and use it regardless of which application they need to use it with, providing both flexibility and accessibility," said Quinlan Eddy, CEO, Star Analytics.  "As part of IBM, we can now bring our technologies to a broader range of clients to help them uncover new, untapped growth opportunities."

The 451 Group acquires Tech:Touchstone.  The 451 Group announced the acquisition of Tech:Touchstone, a UK-based events company cofounded in 2007 by ex-Gartner executive Simeon Turner. Tech:Touchstone events facilitate in-person sharing of insight between senior IT executives and create an environment where they have an opportunity to learn directly from their most trusted sources of information – peers and industry analysts. Turner will become Managing Director, 451 Group Events, which is responsible for producing all events, such as the Uptime Institute Symposium. The 451 Group will expand the locations of its events throughout Asia Pacific, Latin America,Europe and in other geographical areas, reflecting the global nature of the firm's business and clientele. "Joining a dynamic and rapidly growing firm like The 451 Group is an exciting opportunity for me and the Tech:Touchstone team, and significantly enhances the value we can bring to our clients," said Turner. "451 Research, Uptime Institute and The 451 Group's recent addition, Yankee Group, provide the rich source of thought leadership and global presence necessary for a thriving events portfolio that delivers highly valuable, actionable insight and facilitates quality networking for all of our clients. We look forward to ensuring that The 451 Group Events will be the preeminent producer of IT events within the industry."

Twitter acquires Bluefin Labs.  Business Insider reports that Twitter has acquired social TV analytics company Bluefin Labs. Although a price was not mentioned, it was supposedly Twitter's largest acquisition to date  - over its $40 million acquisition of TweetDeck in 2011. Bluefin Labs offers detailed reports about which brands are discussed most on social media. Twitter scored better than both Facebook and Google + during the Superbowl Sunday with 27.7 million public tweets, and has long been a conversation hub for television. Late last year Twitter and Nielsen entered an exclusive multi-year agreement to create the Nielsen Twitter TV Rating research metric. Bluefin Labs offers detailed reports about which brands are discussed most on social media.