Oracle buys security developer Oblix

IDG News Service - Oracle Corp. said yesterday that it has acquired Oblix Inc., a privately held identity management technology developer, for an undisclosed sum. Oracle said it will move quickly to integrate Oblix's security products with its own infrastructure software.
Nine-year-old Oblix's product portfolio includes CoreID for identity management, identity federation server software ShareID, and CoreSV for managing Web services. Oracle said it will continue to sell Oblix's products as stand-alone software, while it also integrates Oblix's features into its own technology stack.
Cupertino, Calif.-based Oblix has about 100 employees, and almost all of them will be extended job offers at Oracle, according to an Oracle spokesman. Oblix's staff will be gradually moved to Oracle's headquarters in Redwood Shores, Calif., he said.
Oracle plans to hold a conference call today to further discuss the acquisition with Thomas Kurian, senior vice president of its Server Technologies group.
After years of spurning acquisitions as a viable growth option, Oracle has been on a shopping spree lately. In December, it spent $10.3 billion to buy rival applications developer PeopleSoft Inc., and last week, it signed a deal to buy retail applications maker Retek Inc. for $630 million. Oracle Chairman and CEO Larry Ellison said last Tuesday that Oracle had no plans for any major acquisitions this quarter.