Oracle deal shows hoosiers own marketing software

Contact: Scott Denne

Oracle’s purchase of Compendium cements Indianapolis’ transformation into the go-to spot for marketing software deals. This makes six acquisitions of marketing tech companies in that city, which have collectively been valued at more than $3bn.

Earlier this year, salesforce.com spent $2.5bn to acquire ExactTarget, and two years ago Teradata paid $525m for Aprimo. Both those companies were founded more than 10 years ago and helped bring – and train – marketing software talent to the area. Given the shift in marketing software from a niche to a strategic pillar at many major software companies – such as Oracle, which has bought five such companies in the last 18 months – there’s room for more local marketing companies to benefit.

ExactTarget birthed many of these businesses. Chris Baggott, one of the founders of ExactTarget, was a founder of Compendium. Other marketing tech startups in the region, such as Right On Interactive, Marketpath and Smarter Remarketer, also have founders that spent time at ExactTarget.

Recent marketing tech deals with Indy targets

Date Target Acquirer Deal Value
October 17, 2013 Compendium Oracle not disclosed
June 04, 2013 ExactTarget salesforce.com $2.5bn
October 11, 2012 iGoDigital ExactTarget $21m
June 07, 2011 Vontoo One Call Now not disclosed
December 22, 2010 Aprimo Teradata $525m

Source: The 451 M&A KnowledgeBase

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