Adobe and Omniture Deal?
Sep/16/09 18:22
It was a surprise to me today that Adobe would seek to acquire Omniture for $1.8 billion. For those of us in the SEO profession, I'm not sure what to make of this. Sure, Adobe Dreamweaver is a great and widely used development tool. I'm still looking at the details, but here is a good summary from CNBC's John Letzing:
It was a surprise to me today that Adobe would seek to acquire Omniture for $1.8 billion. For those of us in the SEO profession, I'm not sure what to make of this. Sure, Adobe Dreamweaver is a great and widely used development tool. I'm still looking at the details, but here is a good summary from CNBC's John Letzing:
Omniture competes with a service offered by Google Inc. (GOOG), called Google Analytics. Some analysts, therefore, sense an impending bid for Omniture from Google rival Microsoft Corp. (MSFT).
"Microsoft may view [Omniture] as a strategic asset in its battle against Google...for search-engine market share," JMP Securities analyst Patrick Walravens told clients in a note.
Microsoft's interest in Omniture may stem from a desire to bolster its relatively new search engine, called Bing, according to Walravens. He wrote that Omniture's technology could help Microsoft better tailor its online advertising for individual users. The analyst raised his price target for Omniture shares to $23 from $15.
Omniture shares closed Wednesday at $21.88, up $4.55, or 26%, while shares of Adobe fell $2.27, or 6.4%, to $33.35. Microsoft shares were unchanged at $25.20. Google added $10.75, or 2.2%, to $488.29.
Microsoft had more than $30 billion in cash and equivalents on its balance sheet at the end of June, and has signaled that it may begin to seek out acquisitions more aggressively. Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell reportedly told an audience in New Zealand earlier this week that "coming out of the [financial] crisis, there will be acquisition opportunities we didn't have before."
A Microsoft spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
In some ways, Microsoft would have been a more logical suitor for Omniture, according to Joe Davis, chief executive of closely held rival Web-analytics firm Coremetrics. That's because Microsoft could theoretically gain insight into a broader set of user interactions with its online properties, whereas Adobe may be limited to the videos or Flash animation that it helps develop.
However, Davis said Microsoft likely had ample opportunity to make an offer. "The deal's been shopped around here for a few months," he added. "Microsoft had the shot and elected not to.
"I'm guessing all interested parties had their say," Davis said.
However, Collins Stewart LLC analyst Sandeep Aggarwal told clients Wednesday that, in addition to Microsoft, other rival bidders for Omniture could include network equipment giant Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO).
Cisco has made comments in the past about its need for "companies engaged in online ads, ad-campaign tools, and Web analytics," Aggarwal wrote, saying "[Omniture] fitted those requirements nicely in our view."
A representative from Cisco declined to comment.
If completed, the Omniture acquisition would be Adobe's largest since it paid some $3.4 billion for Macromedia Inc. in 2005.
Omniture competes with a service offered by Google Inc. (GOOG), called Google Analytics. Some analysts, therefore, sense an impending bid for Omniture from Google rival Microsoft Corp. (MSFT).
"Microsoft may view [Omniture] as a strategic asset in its battle against Google...for search-engine market share," JMP Securities analyst Patrick Walravens told clients in a note.
Microsoft's interest in Omniture may stem from a desire to bolster its relatively new search engine, called Bing, according to Walravens. He wrote that Omniture's technology could help Microsoft better tailor its online advertising for individual users. The analyst raised his price target for Omniture shares to $23 from $15.
Omniture shares closed Wednesday at $21.88, up $4.55, or 26%, while shares of Adobe fell $2.27, or 6.4%, to $33.35. Microsoft shares were unchanged at $25.20. Google added $10.75, or 2.2%, to $488.29.
Microsoft had more than $30 billion in cash and equivalents on its balance sheet at the end of June, and has signaled that it may begin to seek out acquisitions more aggressively. Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell reportedly told an audience in New Zealand earlier this week that "coming out of the [financial] crisis, there will be acquisition opportunities we didn't have before."
A Microsoft spokesman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
In some ways, Microsoft would have been a more logical suitor for Omniture, according to Joe Davis, chief executive of closely held rival Web-analytics firm Coremetrics. That's because Microsoft could theoretically gain insight into a broader set of user interactions with its online properties, whereas Adobe may be limited to the videos or Flash animation that it helps develop.
However, Davis said Microsoft likely had ample opportunity to make an offer. "The deal's been shopped around here for a few months," he added. "Microsoft had the shot and elected not to.
"I'm guessing all interested parties had their say," Davis said.
However, Collins Stewart LLC analyst Sandeep Aggarwal told clients Wednesday that, in addition to Microsoft, other rival bidders for Omniture could include network equipment giant Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO).
Cisco has made comments in the past about its need for "companies engaged in online ads, ad-campaign tools, and Web analytics," Aggarwal wrote, saying "[Omniture] fitted those requirements nicely in our view."
A representative from Cisco declined to comment.
If completed, the Omniture acquisition would be Adobe's largest since it paid some $3.4 billion for Macromedia Inc. in 2005.