Oracle to acquire Micros Systems for $5.3b

Oracle headquarters in Redwood City, California. Oracle announced plans to acquire Micros Systems for $5.3 billion. Photo / AP

Oracle announced plans on Monday to acquire a Columbia, Maryland-based maker of cash register and reservation systems for $5.3 billion in a deal that would allow the technology giant to gain a foothold in the retail and hospitality sectors.

Founded in 1977, Micros Systems counts 1,000 employees at its headquarters, and another 5,600 in offices around the country and globe. Its point-of-sale technology is installed at some 567,000 establishments worldwide, including department stores, restaurant chains, casinos, cruise ships and stadiums. Some of its brand-name customers include Marriott International, Starbucks, Burger King and Ikea.

Redwood City, California-based Oracle has become one of the world's largest business software concerns in part by acquiring companies that give it greater reach into new markets.

"Oracle has successfully helped customers across multiple industries harness the power of cloud, mobile, social, big data and the internet of things to transform their businesses," Oracle President Mark Hurd said in a news release.

"We anticipate delivering compelling advantages to companies within the hospitality and retail industries with the acquisition of Micros."

Under the deal, Micros stockholders would receive $68 for each share of common stock they hold, about a 3.4 per cent premium from Friday's closing price and a nearly 16 per cent premium from early last week, when word of a possible transaction began to circulate. The $5.3 billion deal would be worth $4.6 billion after accounting for the cash Micros holds.

An Oracle spokeswoman declined to comment beyond a news release.

Gil Luria, managing director at Wedbush Securities, said that in purchasing Micros, Oracle acquires a company that has seen its revenue and income grow in each of the past five years. Micros has also expanded, albeit slowly, into emerging markets beyond North America and Western Europe in recent years.

The company ended the first three quarters of the fiscal year with a net income of $56 million, a 13 per cent increase from $49.6 million during the same period last year. Micros is scheduled to release its annual financial report next month.

"They have the capacity to grow more if Oracle invests in geographic expansion and expansion into adjacent markets," Luria said.

Young, tech-savvy firms have been gradually chipping away at retail and hospitality markets as they serve up new ways to process payments, manage inventory and engage with guests on mobile platforms and through social media.

That competition has forced providers like Micros to come out with ever-more innovative products that can keep pace with technology trends, such as cloud computing, data analytics and mobile devices.

Read also: Court allows Oracle to pursue claim against Google

"In combination with Oracle, we expect to help accelerate our customers' ability to innovate and differentiate their businesses by utilising Oracle's technologies, cloud solutions and scale. We are very excited about the great opportunities this will create for our customers and employees," Peter Altabef, Micros president and chief executive, said in a news release. The company has not returned calls seeking comment.

The Micros board unanimously approved the acquisition and, pending regulatory approval, the deal is expected to close during the second half of the year.

This is the second local purchase for Oracle in the last two years. In December 2012, the company scooped up Vienna, Virginia-based Eloqua for $871 million. Eloqua helps companies analyse visitors to their website and identify those most likely to make a purchase.

- Washington Post

Source:

www.nzherald.co.nz

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It's No Toke: Colorado Pulls In Millions In Marijuana Tax Revenue

They say crime pays? Not exactly. Legalize a former crime and tax it and itreally pays.

Just ask Colorado. Perhaps not so awkwardly labeled the “Highest State,” Colorado pulled in $2 million in taxes related to the sale of recreational marijuana…in January 2014 alone. Combined with taxes on sales from medicinal marijuana, the state pulled in nearly $3.5 million in pot-related tax revenue. If that trend continues, the state will see more than $40 million in additional tax dollars in 2014. To put that in perspective, that’s approximately 1% of the total annual budgets for Delaware, South Dakota, Montana or West Virginia.

There are a couple of layers of tax in place on the sale of marijuana. To begin with, there’s a 10% state sales tax imposed on retail marijuana and marijuana products on top of 2.9% in existing state sales tax (this is in addition to any local sales tax). As with other taxable products in Colorado, the tax is on the final consumer and cannot be included in the advertised price. Together with local sales taxes and special taxes, the tax imposed on consumers in Denver on the purchase of marijuana can reach as high as 21.12% (downloads as a pdf). Denver County accounted for more than halfof all medicinal and recreational marijuana related sales tax revenue, while outside of the capital, taxes can be closer to 13%. No matter the level of tax, sales were pretty healthy statewide, with $14.02 million worth of recreational pot sold.

In addition to sales taxes, Colorado also imposes a “retail marijuana excise tax” of 15%. That tax is assessed on the first sale or transfer of marijuana from a retail marijuana cultivation facility and is calculated by taking the average market rate per pound and multiplying it by the weight of the flower times the tax rate. That means it’s not directly charged to the consumer. The state is serious about that last piece: while the tax can certainly be rolled into the overall price as the cost of doing business, it may not be separately stated on a receipt to give the appearance that it’s a consumer tax.

Medical marijuana Acapulco gold (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Additional licenses and fees are also imposed with those for medical marijuana outpacing those for retail marijuana by a factor of about five to one. The sale of medical marijuana has been legal and regulated in the state since 2000. The sale of recreational marijuana was made legal this year so these numbers for taxes, licenses and fees, are the first look at how those sales are directly impacting the economy.

The result? Despite taxes, no one is complaining – especially not the Department of Revenue. Even at relatively high rates, consumers are still buying and state officials have indicated that those numbers are on target.

The biggest problem is actually how to spend the money: it’s not exactly a terrible problem to have. Voters approved a law last year that requires the first $40 million collected from the special excise taxes to be directed towards school construction. But after that? The state hasn’t yet decided to do with the money. Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) has proposed using a significant chunk of the revenue on programs related to marijuana legalization including those to keep youths away from drugs, substance abuse treatment, and my favorite, the “anti-stoned-driving campaign.” Here’s my guess about the programming: it won’t be particularly popular, at least not for long, and it won’t be inked as such in the final bill.

Here’s the reality: forget marijuana, it’s the tax dollars that are addictive.  The more lawmakers have, the more that they spend. And then they want even more. I can’t imagine a scenario in which lawmakers would agree to simply direct millions and millions of tax dollars into more programming, well-intentioned or not. Expect a battle in Colorado over exactly how to spend that money.

As for the rest of the nation? They’ve got their perhaps slightly bloodshot – and envious – eyes on Colorado. For years, the sale of marijuana has been illegal – and taxing it wasn’t even seriously considered for fear that it might somehow legitimize the use. Now, twenty states plus the District of Columbia allow people to use medical marijuana and two states (Colorado and Washington) allow sales for recreational use. Nationwide, it appears that public opinion is changing: a current petition to make marijuana legal has garnered nearly 100,000 signatures. Legalizing it would mean significant changes in the way we view crimes and the use of drugs across the country: taxing it would merely sweeten the pot.

News Source: www.forbes.com

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