• by Ray Schultz , September 14, 2018

Adobe Systems is negotiating to buy Marketo, a provider of B2B marketing software, Reuters reports, citing unnamed sources.  

The arrangement would strengthen Adobe against larger competitors Microsoft and Oracle, it states.

Started in 2006 as an email marketing service, Marketo was brought private in 2016 by Vista Equity Partners Management LLC for $1.8 billion.

Sources say that “Adobe is expected to pay significantly more than that should a deal be reached,” Reuters writes. 

Last year, Marketo brought in revenue of $321 million, it adds.

Not all observers view such a merger in a positive light. It proves that“there continues to be consolidation of martech and related tech firms these last few years -- in particular, by strategic vendors such as Adobe, Salesforce, IBM and Oracle,” says Sean Brady, president of Emarsys Americas. 

Brady claims, however, that "the value that these 'acquired clouds' promote is to achieve greater functionality. However, customers often cite issues with implementation of these 'acquired clouds'." 

Adobe has a market capitalization of $130 billion, Reuters reports.

It continues that Adobe and Vista Equity declined to comment. 

Brady says “the impact of the different acquired platforms being 'cobbled together' is that the integration between them and the larger platforms loses its effectiveness, so the platform does not work as well as expected."