T. Rowe demands higher price for NetSuite from Oracle

Dive Brief:

T. Rowe Price Group Inc. asked Oracle Corp. Friday to raise its offer to buy NetSuite, according to Reuters.
The investment management firm wants Oracle to raise its offer from the $109-per-share it offered in July to $133 per share.
If Oracle increases the price per share, the firm agreed to support the transaction in time for the Nov. 4 deadline.

Dive Insight:

Earlier this month, Oracle announced it will extend the expiration date for NetSuite shareholders to approve its offer to buy the company until November 4, according to a company announcement. On Friday, T.Rowe said would not participate in the tender offer unless Oracle offers a higher price.

Oracle announced that it planned to buy NetSuite in July. But last month, T. Rowe Price Group said it was opposed to Oracle’s planned acquisition of NetSuite because the $9.3 billion price is too low and there are "inherent conflicts of interest" between the two companies, according to media reports and a letter sent to NetSuite's board disclosed in U.S. SEC filings.

Experts say buying NetSuite will help Oracle compete against Salesforce, Microsoft and SAP. NetSuite is a leader in the ERP SaaS category, according to Q2 data released from Synergy Research Group, so it’s an appealing target for an acquisition.