Oracle buys Textura for $663M to build up its construction IT business

Oracle today announced that it is making an acquisition to (literally and figuratively) build out its Primavera project management and billing business: it is buying Textura, a provider of cloud-based contract and payment management solutions specifically for the construction industry. The all-cash deal, Oracle said, is worth $663 million, net of Textura’s existing cash.

Oracle said that together Primavera and Textura will form a new global business unit, Oracle Engineering and Construction. The transaction, which has been approved by the board already, should close some time this year.

“The increasingly global engineering and construction industry requires digital modernization in a way that automates manual processes and embraces the power of cloud computing to easily connect the construction job site, reduce cost overruns, and improve productivity,” said Mike Sicilia, SVP and GM, Engineering and Construction Global Business Unit, Oracle, in a statement. “Together,Textura and Oracle Engineering and Construction will have the most comprehensive set of cloud services in the industry.”

Textura, which went public in 2013, is one of the bigger providers of project management services to this industry globally.

It processes $3.4 billion in payments for over 6,000 projects monthly, with over 85,000 contractors and others connected to the platform.

The problem that it’s solving specifically is to try to keep a better handle on projects and specifically the budgets for them amidst the tangle of companies and individuals involved in completing building works.

In general, the construction industry, perhaps because it is so grounded in the concrete, has been one of the slower ones to be disrupted, although others like PlanGrid and Fieldwire have also been tapping into new platforms to change how projects are designed and executed. There has also been an uptick more recently in investments in construction-related startups, and more generally, there are a lot of developing trends in construction — from more complex building teams through to new techniques — that will be predicated on better technology to execute it.

For Oracle, adding Textura to its existing Primavera business completes a chain of cloud-based services to help start, implement and complete construction projects, as it outlined in this graphic:

Screen Shot 2016-04-28 at 15.22.35

Textura’s products and teams are all coming over in the deal.

“Textura’s mission is to bring workflow automation and transparency to complex construction projects while improving their financial performance and minimizing risks,” said David Habiger, Chief Executive Officer, Textura, in a statement. “We are excited to join Oracle and bring our cloud-based capabilities to help extend the Oracle Engineering and Construction Industry Cloud Platform.”

This is Oracle’s 101st acquisition, according to Crunchbase.