Oracle Buys Another Business

Oracle Corp. continues its shopping spree by buying a company, Hyperion Corp., that sells software to many colleges to run their back-office systems. The takeover will cost Oracle $3.3-billion in cash, at $52 per share. According to MarketWatch, many of Hyperion's customers also buy software from SAP, so the purchase could give Oracle leverage in the competition. This is Oracle's 30th acquisition in the past three years, including its takeover of PeopleSoft Inc., which at the time worried many college officials. they seem satisfied with the results so far, but they are watching closely to see what Oracle will do as it expands. –Dan Carnevale