Adobe has bought online ad firm Omniture for $1.8 bn, as the graphic design software giant expands further into the online advertising arena. Omniture provides web analytics, measurement and optimization technologies and Adobe is hoping the purchase will help its advertising and Web site design customers handle online campaigns. Chief Executive Officer Shantanu Narayen is […]
Adobe has bought online ad firm Omniture for $1.8 bn, as the graphic design software giant expands further into the online advertising arena. Omniture provides web analytics, measurement and optimization technologies and Adobe is hoping the purchase will help its advertising and Web site design customers handle online campaigns. Chief Executive Officer Shantanu Narayen is pushing Adobe into new businesses at a time when customers are pulling back on purchases of the company’s design software.
“Adobe is trying to diversify beyond being just a maker of development tools,” Olson said. “Any time you do a big acquisition, the acquirer’s shares are down because of the element of risk that some investors aren’t comfortable with.”
Adobe said third-quarter net income fell 29 percent to $136 million, or 26 cents a share, from $191.6 million, or 35 cents, a year earlier. Sales dropped 21 percent to $697.5 million in the period ended Aug. 28.
Revenue this quarter will be $690 million to $740 million, Adobe said. Analysts on average estimated $723.6 million, according to a Bloomberg survey.
Omniture will become a unit and its CEO, Josh James will become a senior vice president, reporting to Narayen. Adobe expects the deal to close in its fiscal fourth quarter, which ends in November.
Omniture is Adobe’s second-biggest purchase, after its 2005 acquisition of Macromedia Inc. for $3.4 billion.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. advised Adobe and Morgan Stanley worked with Omniture, according to a regulatory filing.
www.adobe.com
www.omniture.com
