Oracle to buy Australian cloud-based software developer Aconex for $1.2 bn

US computer technology company Oracle Corp today struck a deal to buy Australian cloud-based software developer Aconex Ltd for A$1.56 billion ($1.2 billion).

''Oracle's offer of A$7.80 per share represents a significant premium and a high degree of certainty of value to shareholders through the cash offer and limited conditionality,'' Aconex chairman Adam Lewis said in a statement.

The board of Aconex has recommended the acquisition, which is expected to close in the first half of 2018, subject to Aconex shareholders and certain regulatory approvals.

Aconex will pay Oracle about 1 per cent of the deal's equity value as break-up fee under certain conditions.

Melbourne-based Aconex is a cloud-based solution that manages team collaboration for construction projects and digitally connects owners, builders and other teams, providing management of data, documents and costs across all stages of a construction project lifecycle.

Aconex has been used in over $1 trillion in capital projects across 70,000 organisations in over 70 countries, including the Panama Canal extension.

Oracle said that its Construction and Engineering Cloud division already offers customers the industry's most advanced solutions for planning, scheduling and delivering large scale projects.

''Together, Oracle and Aconex will provide an end-to-end offering for project management and delivery that enables customers to effectively plan, build, and operate construction projects,'' California-based Oracle said in a statement.

''The Aconex and Oracle businesses are a great, natural fit and highly complementary in terms of vision, product, people and geography,'' said Leigh Jasper, co-founder and CEO of Aconex.

Mike Sicilia, SVP and GM, Construction and Engineering Global Business Unit, Oracle, said, ''Delivering projects on time and on budget are the highest strategic imperatives for any engineering and construction organisation.''

''With the addition of Aconex, we significantly advance our vision of offering the most comprehensive cloud-based project management solution for this $14 trillion industry,'' he added.