Oracle's $3.3 billion deal not a slam dunk

As I mentioned yesterday in BloggingStocks.com, Oracle's (NASDAQ: ORCL) $3.3 billion deal for Hyperion Solutions (NASDAQ: HYSL) is at a reasonable valuation. It also is a way for Oracle to slap SAP (NYSE: SAP).

But are there problems with the deal?

Hyperion's focus is on performance management. This helps companies manage, monitor and analyze performance across all business segments, such as marketing, HR, finance and so on. Such things are important in light of the heavy compliance requirements of corporate America. It also helps companies deal with competitors.

In fact, IDC projects growth in this market at about 12-14% per year.

Well, I had a chance to interview Ben Plummer, who is the vice president of worldwide marketing of Applix (NASDAQ: APLX). His company is also a provider of performance management software.

His take: "We are not surprised by this acquisition. While it validates a change in the market, we also know that the software buyers are very savvy about the business analytics market, and are not impressed with having a one-stop shop for all their enterprise solutions: they see the effects of a vendor acquiring just parts of the puzzle. And many prefer the best-of-breed, pure play providers who have grown up in this space."

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.