Oracle to pay more for additional stakes in i-flex

We all know Oracle on an acquisition binge since January 2005. It looks like the software giant is back for more when InfoWorld reported that Oracle has increased the price that it is willing to pay for an additional stake in i-flex solutions, a financial software vendor based in Mumbai, India.

According to the report, Oracle has increased its offer to 2,100 Indian rupees per share, including interest. This would be worth around a hefty $47 per share. The company also raised the number of shares it will buy to around 35%.

InfoWorld added that the new open offer price is a 42% premium to the 1,475 rupees per share that Oracle first offered, and a 20% premium to i-flex's closing stock price last December 7 of 1,751 rupees.

Despite the increase, an analyst noted that the software giant might not have found enough support for the offer at its earliest price. Why? This might be because i-flex's shares have increased by over 52% over the last six months. On i-flex's end, I think the Mumbai firm has a reason to be happy for an even more increased Oracle stake.

Oracle currently owns a 55% stake in i-flex, and would be handing over around $531 million for the additional stake. From the earlier 16.63 million shares, Oracle now wants to pay for 28.39 million.

Price doesn't seem to stop Oracle from getting more. While the software giant already has solutions for financial services, an acquisition of i-flex is possible because Oracle might still want to beef up its financial product line.