Oracle Corporation announced last week that it has agreed to buy Siebel Systems, Inc. for $10.66 per share. The offer is valued at approximately $5.85 billion, or $3.61 billion net of Siebel’s cash on hand of $2.24 billion.

“In a single step, Oracle becomes the number one CRM applications company in the world,” said CEO Larry Ellison. “Siebel’s 4,000 applications customers and 3,400,000 CRM users strengthen our number one position in applications in North America and move us closer to the number one position in applications globally.”

“Today is a great day for Siebel Systems’ customers, partners, shareholders, and employees,” said Siebel Systems chairman Thomas M. Siebel. “The combination of Siebel applications with the development capacity of Oracle to enhance our CRM product set assures our customers continuing success. This is a very beneficial business combination that will allow us to be even more effective in delivering high quality, leading edge solutions into the hands of satisfied customers.”