Oracle takes over Opower for $532 million
Giant computer technology company Oracle Corporation reached a new deal to purchase cloud services provider Opower for $532 million. The deal, according to several sources, will be consummated before the end of the year.
Opower's business is primarily focused on offering and selling data services with the purpose of monitoring and tracking energy-use patterns in homes in the U.S. In order to keep up with the standards of energy efficiency, several utility companies, including the biggest in the nation avail of Opower's services.
The company reported a total annual revenue of $145.7 million last year after deciding to expand its range. When it was first established in 2007, the business was exclusively analytical, but its services eventually developed by giving utilities the ability to actively communicate and engage with clients.
According to the Washington Post, Opower made a substantial move three years ago in the hope of expanding its reach to the international market by inking a business venture with Tokyo Electric Power. It is the same utility company that was hit by a tsunami at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant after an earthquake struck the country back in 2011.
The decision of Oracle to purchase Opower makes a lot of sense after previously declaring its intentions to obtain cloud-based data companies, the purpose of which is to get its hands on a larger stake in providing cloud software for utilities industry.
Oracle's general manager for its utilities global business unit, Rodger Smith, told the Wall Street Journal that the purchase will officially make the company the largest provider of cloud services to utilities in the U.S. and maybe the world. Obviously, the move is designed to topple competition and dominate the market. Oracle always has been linked to a reputation of being a very aggressive company when it comes to taking over other companies to increase its shares in the market, and this is what it exactly did with Opower.