Oracle buys financial software maker

Oracle (ORCL) said today it will acquire Treasury Services Corporation (TSC), a privately held firm that provides profitability and risk analysis software, in a merger valued at up to $120 million.

The acquisition is the latest move by Oracle to extend its applications software into vertical markets. As previously reported by CNET's NEWS.COM, Santa Monica, California-based TSC sells a product called Treasury Services Evaluation and Reporting System, which is used by 80-plus major financial institutions worldwide, according to the company.

Representatives of both companies say the purchase represents a major move by Oracle into the financial services market, where it already sells applications software. Oracle plans to add the TSC software to its Oracle Applications packages.

The merger should further Oracle's commitment to providing applications for the financial services sector, and it will benefit TSC customers, who will gain from Oracle's financial clout and services, said analysts.

"[The acquisition] is not a surprise, because Oracle has been focusing on the financial services market for some time," said Deborah Williams, an analyst with Meridien Research.

But the TSC acquisition does mean Oracle is now serious about providing applications to the financial community. "Now, they have put their money where their mouth is," said Williams.

The TSC software includes asset-liability tracking tools, funds transfer pricing and performance reporting, budgeting and forecasting tools, acquisition valuation and analysis software, and other tools.

Oracle will account for the deal as a purchase. It expects to incur a one-time charge for writing off in-process research in the first quarter of fiscal year 1998.

TSC has 250 employees, said Ann Stephenson, a TSC representative. No layoffs are planned as a result of the deal. Oracle intends to maintain a development and operations facility in the Santa Monica area.