Recently in M&A Category

Adobe Systems Incorporated announced that it has acquired privately held Auditude Inc., a provider of video ad management and monetization technologies for premium publishers and media companies. Supporting video ad management and monetization delivered via an open architecture platform, Auditude lets premium publishers and media companies create a high-quality, TV-like, multi-device advertising experience that is an essential component to viewer loyalty and attracting major brand advertisers. features of the Auditude platform include: easy integration into content management and other video operations systems; precise targeting capabilities; flexible ad placement and ad product offerings; intuitive sales rights management; access to and control of incremental advertising demand; and cross-device workflow. http://www.auditude.com/ http://www.adobe.com/

Kentico Software, the Web content management system vendor, releases a beta version of Kentico CMS 6 and adds a new product line – Kentico Enterprise Marketing Solution (EMS),  for Customer Experience Management. Out of the box, Kentico CMS 6 includes E-mail Marketing, Marketing Dashboards, A/B and Multivariate Testing, Campaign and Conversion Management, Integration Bus and improved Web Analytics. On top of this, Kentico EMS adds On-line Marketing features such as Content Personalization, Contact Management, Lead Scoring and Segmentation. Kentico EMS is also enriched with some additional Enterprise features as Health Monitoring, support of Multiple SMTP Servers and Scheduler Windows Services. The beta version of Kentico CMS 6 is available for download exclusively to Kentico partners via Kentico Partner Portal. Kentico CMS 6 will be generally available in late September 2011. http://www.kentico.com/

IBM has announced a cloud-based Web analytics and digital marketing suite aimed at helping its business customers automate online marketing campaigns across digital channels, such as Websites, social media networks and mobile phones. The new IBM offering combines software from the acquisitions of Coremetrics and Unica and provides analytics that help companies fine-tune marketing campaigns and create personalised offers in real-time across online channels. For example, businesses would be able to evaluate Facebook or Twitter activity, and offer tailored promotions delivered to their mobile devices on the fly. IBM’s suite also enables businesses to deliver and fine-tune digital marketing programmes based on what customers are doing offline. For instance, a consumer who purchased a new tablet in a brick-and-mortar store would receive special offers via email to purchase tablet accessories. http://www.ibm.com

To execute their marketing vision, IBM has created a new Enterprise Marketing Management group, dedicated to meeting the evolving needs of marketing professionals. IBM’s acquisitions of Unica and other marketing and commerce software providers are part of IBM’s commitment to the success of every customer. Unica and IBM share a vision for the strategic role marketing and marketers will play as business evolves to a more customer-centric era. http://www.ibm.com/ http://www.unica.com/

Cloud-based software maker Salesforce.com said it will buy privately held Radian6 for $326 million in cash and stock to add to its social-media monitoring products. Radian6 makes products that monitor conversations on social media sites, allowing companies to gain real-time insights on customer trends. Salesforce.com said the combination will enhance its cloud offerings and help it integrate conversations on social media sites into its corporate social network - Chatter. Radian6, based in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, was founded in 2006 and had over 120 employees as of June last, according to the firm's website. www.salesforce.com/ http://www.radian6.com/

Managing Editor Inc. (MEI), a provider of solutions for the publishing industry, announced the release of Page Director Ad Layout System 5.5, ALS for Magazines 5.5 and AdForce 5.5. ALS 5.5 is the first universal version of MEI’s flagship software, certified to run natively on both PowerPC and Intel-based Macintosh computers. For ad layout staffs exporting finished dummies to Adobe InDesign, ALS 5.5 is compatible with InDesign CS3 and CS4 and will soon be with CS5. For Quark users, ALS 5.5 is also compatible with QuarkXPress 7.x and 8.x. Another new feature in ALS 5.5 is Check for Updates, which automatically finds a new version if available. Version 5.5 includes a new palette that combines default and issue rules, intended for ease of review, create, edit, apply and delete them. Additionally, Conflict Rules are now managed as an ALS Properties group. ALS for Magazines 5.5, an ad-placement solution built with magazines in mind, and AdForce 5.5, for small to mid-size newspapers, are also now universal applications. ALS for Magazines also includes the new Conflict Rules enhancements. Page Director Ad Layout System 5.5, ALS for Magazines 5.5 and AdForce 5.5 are available now. Upgrading is free for customers in MEI’s Premium Site Support Agreement program. http://www.maned.com

Caltron Industries, a digital signage provider, and Atmio, a developer of networked content management, announced the availability of Atmio's web-based Content Management System (CMS) which provides networked content management and control for Caltron's High-Definition Digital Signage Players. This new partnership enables content management access for previously non-networkable digital signage markets. With remote access via Atmio's web-based content management system, users should now have greater flexibility for controlling their digital signage. Atmio’s Content Management System has a web-based interface that allows for independent playlist editing and content management across multiple networked signage deployments. As with all internet solutions, Atmio's web-based system is a hosted solution compatible with major web browsers (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Chrome). The integration of Atmio's web-based Content Management System is available immediately for Caltron's MP-1080A and MP-1080H players. http://www.caltronind.com/ http://atmio.com/

Prime View International (“PVI”) (8069.TW), a small and medium display provider and the world’s highest volume supplier of ePaper display modules, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire E Ink Corporation, the developer of electronic paper display materials and intellectual property for approximately $215 million. The deal is part of a transformation at PVI to focus on electronic paper displays. In 2005, PVI acquired the ePaper business of Philips Electronics and partnered with E Ink to provide displays for electronic books including the SONY Reader and the Amazon Kindle 2 and Kindle DX. PVI also invested heavily in dedicated driver chips and touch screens for ePaper, as well as flexible displays, which will be marketed later this year. In 2008, PVI bought a 74% stake of Hydis Technologies of Korea, quadrupling capacity for the transistor backplanes used in ePaper. The new company will expand capacity and develop improvements for ePaper display screens that are easy on the eyes, long-lasting, and highly portable. ePaper is for reading of digital documents which are less wasteful, more convenient and more up-to-date than paper documents. E Ink and PVI currently support nearly 20 eBook manufacturers worldwide. In addition to electronic books, E Ink’s Vizple imaging film is used in cellphones, signage, smartcards, memory devices, and battery indicators. PVI will finance the acquisition with an equity placement and a convertible bond offering led by Taiwanese securities firm KGI. The transaction is subject to shareholder and customary regulatory approval and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2009. http://www.eink.com, http://www.pvi.com.tw

Open Text Corporation (NASDAQ:OTEX) (TSX: OTC) and Vignette Corporation (NASDAQ:VIGN) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Vignette will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Open Text. Vignette shareholders will receive US $8.00 in cash plus 0.1447 of an Open Text common share for every Vignette common share which equates to approximately US $12.70 at close of market on May 5, 2009. This represents a premium of approximately 74% above the 30 trading day average closing price of Vignette's shares and approximately 41% above the most recent closing price. This values the transaction at approximately US $310 million. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of calendar 2009 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by Vignette's shareholders, Hart-Scott-Rodino anti-trust clearance, Securities and Exchange Commission clearance and stock exchange approvals. http://www.vignette.com, http://www.opentext.com/

Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: JAVA) and Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Oracle will acquire Sun common stock for $9.50 per share in cash. The transaction is valued at approximately $7.4 billion, or $5.6 billion net of Sun's cash and debt. The Board of Directors of Sun Microsystems has unanimously approved the transaction. It is anticipated to close this summer, subject to Sun stockholder approval, certain regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. "We expect this acquisition to be accretive to Oracle's earnings by at least 15 cents on a non-GAAP basis in the first full year after closing. We estimate that the acquired business will contribute over $1.5 billion to Oracle's non-GAAP operating profit in the first year, increasing to over $2 billion in the second year. This would make the Sun acquisition more profitable in per share contribution in the first year than we had planned for the acquisitions of BEA, PeopleSoft and Siebel combined," said Oracle President Safra Catz. The Sun Solaris operating system is the leading platform for the Oracle database, Oracle's largest business, and has been for a long time. With the acquisition of Sun, Oracle can optimize the Oracle database for some of the features of Solaris. http://www.oracle.com, http://www.sun.com