Oracle buys another one

SAN FRANCISCO: Oracle Corp. on Monday said it has bought Oblix Inc., a privately-held maker of identity management software, marking Oracle's third purchase in as many months.

Oracle did not say how much it paid for Oblix, but said it will hold a press conference at 10 am Eastern on Tuesday to discuss the acquisition, which comes after Oracle bought rival PeopleSoft for $10.6 billion in January, following an 18-month takeover battle, and Retek Inc. for about $670 million.

Oracle clinched its acquisition of retail software maker Retek last week after outbidding Germany's SAP in an effort to protect its share of the U.S. business software market, which is Oracle's biggest market for software applications and SAP's fastest-growing market.

Oracle, based in Redwood Shores, California, is the world's biggest database maker but has been trying to catch up with SAP, the top maker of business software applications, which automate business processes such as payroll and human resource planning.

Oracle said Oblix's products complement the identity and access management products currently available in Oracle Identity Management and included as part of Oracle's Application Server.

Oracle said Oblix, based in Cupertino, California, also provides security and regulatory compliance products.