Last and final?

12 Oct 2016 By Robert Cyran Follow @rob_cyran

Few have backed the software giant’s $9.3 bln bid. Oracle, whose chairman Larry Ellison owns a 40 pct stake in NetSuite, says it’s the final offer. But the company needs NetSuite’s cloud skills and fast growth. That makes an Oracle price hike more likely than a squelched deal.

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Oracle on Oct. 7 extended its deadline to Nov. 4 for NetSuite shareholders to vote in favor of its $9.3 billion takeover offer. The company says this is its final extension, and if shareholders do not approve the deal, it will withdraw its offer.

As of Oct. 10, 4.6 million shares had been tendered. For the deal to be approved, Oracle needs 20.4 million votes, which is over 50 percent of shareholders unaffiliated with the company's management or Oracle founder Larry Ellison. The Oracle chairman controls 39.8 percent of NetSuite through direct ownership, trusts and related entities.

On Sept. 6, investment group T. Rowe Price said it would oppose the deal. It said the offer was too low, and that "the inherent conflicts of interest between NetSuite, the Ellison entities and Oracle are daunting and may be impossible to manage." T. Rowe owns 14.5 million shares of NetSuite, or about 18 percent of the company.

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