Oracle finally assumed ownership of Portal Software Wednesday, having accepted about three-quarters of the billing and revenue-management software vendor’s shares.It’s been a hard-fought battle. In the course of its wooing of Portal shareholders, Oracle had to renew its tender offer for the company twice, with the latest bid expiring Tuesday at 12 a.m. EDT.By Tuesday, Portal shareholders had tendered 32 million shares, around 74 percent of the company’s outstanding stock. Oracle is holding the door open for shareholders to tender the remaining 26 percent of Portal’s stock, offering the same US$4.90 per-share cash consideration as its initial bid until June 30 at 8 p.m. EDT.Oracle first announced plans to buy Portal in April for $4.90 per share, valuing the company at approximately $220 million. Despite already having the blessing of Portal’s board of directors and gaining the necessary regulatory approvals, the database and applications vendor had trouble convincing Portal shareholders of the merits of the acquisition.Portal’s second-largest shareholder, Berggruen Holdings North America, publicly voiced its disapproval, firing off several angry letters to Portal President and Chief Executive Officer Dave Labuda. Berggruen maintained that Portal tried to rush through the sale of the company to Oracle at a knock-down price. Berggruen holds a 9.1 percent stake in Portal. Both Portal and Oracle pointed to the vendor’s ongoing financial issues putting Portal’s continued viability in question. Portal was delisted from Nasdaq last year and remains delinquent in financial filings to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Portal’s software enables communications companies to bill and manage a range of services including wireline and wireless phones, broadband, cable, voice over IP, IP television, music and video.Oracle sees the purchase as highly strategic and plans to integrate Portal’s software into its ERP applications and the CRM products it acquired through the purchase of Siebel. Although Portal has focused on the telecommunications and media industries, Oracle has said it may look to expand the use of the software to other verticals.Portal is set to become a global communications unit within Oracle focused on billing and revenue management. Bhaskar Gorti, Portal’s senior vice president of worldwide sales, services, marketing and alliances, will head the unit at Oracle as general manager.-China Martens, IDG News Service (Boston Bureau)Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content news Concerns remain even as the EU reaches a landmark deal to govern AI Experts believe the new regulation would add a significant compliance burden on businesses as some argue it could even stifle the growth of the rapidly developing technology. By Gagandeep Kaur Dec 11, 2023 7 mins Regulation Regulation Government feature CIOs grapple with the ethics of implementing AI With ethical considerations around AI use increasingly top of mind, IT leaders are developing governance frameworks, establishing review boards, and coming to terms with the difficult discussions and decisions ahead. By Esther Shein Dec 11, 2023 13 mins Generative AI Data Governance IT Governance feature Reed Smith turns to AI for lawyer staffing solution The legal firm’s Smart Resourcing tool helps balance workloads and ensure partners find associates with the right skills and experience, while empowering employees to make connections across the firm’s global footprint. By Sarah K. White Dec 11, 2023 8 mins CIO 100 Legal Digital Transformation news Emirates NBD drives sustainability goals with Microsoft partnership By Andrea Benito Dec 10, 2023 2 mins CIO Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe