Oracle 2014 Annual Report Download - page 29

Table of Contents
Acquisitions present many risks and we may not realize the financial and strategic goals that were contemplated at the time of a transaction.
In recent years, we have invested billions of dollars to acquire a number of companies, products, services and technologies. A selective and
active acquisition program is an important element of our overall corporate strategy and we expect to continue to make acquisitions in the future.
Risks we may face in connection with our acquisition program include:
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our ongoing business may be disrupted and our management’s attention may be diverted by acquisition, transition or integration
activities;
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we may have difficulties (i) managing an acquired company’s technologies or lines of business; (ii) entering new markets where we
have no or limited direct prior experience or where competitors may have stronger market positions; or (iii) retaining key personnel
from the acquired companies;
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an acquisition may not further our business strategy as we expected, we may not integrate an acquired company or technology as
successfully as we expected or we may overpay for, or otherwise not realize the expected return on, our investments, which could
adversely affect our business or operating results and potentially cause impairment to assets that we recorded as a part of an acquisition
including intangible assets and goodwill;
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our operating results or financial condition may be adversely impacted by claims or liabilities that we assume from an acquired
company or technology or that are otherwise related to an acquisition, including, among others, claims from government agencies,
terminated employees, current or former customers, former stockholders or other third parties; pre-existing contractual relationships of
an acquired company that we would not have otherwise entered into, the termination or modification of which may be costly or
disruptive to our business; unfavorable revenue recognition or other accounting treatment as a result of an acquired company’s
practices; and intellectual property claims or disputes;
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we may fail to identify or assess the magnitude of certain liabilities, shortcomings or other circumstances prior to acquiring a company
or technology, which could result in unexpected litigation or regulatory exposure, unfavorable accounting treatment, unexpected
increases in taxes due, a loss of anticipated tax benefits or other adverse effects on our business, operating results or financial condition;
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we may not realize the anticipated increase in our revenues from an acquisition for a number of reasons, including if a larger than
predicted number of customers decline to renew software or hardware support contracts or cloud-based subscription contracts, if we are
unable to sell the acquired products or service offerings to our customer base or if contract models of an acquired company do not allow
us to recognize revenues on a timely basis;
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we may have difficulty incorporating acquired technologies, products, services and their related supply chain operations with our
existing lines of business and supply chain infrastructure and maintaining uniform standards, architecture, controls, procedures and
policies;
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we may have multiple product lines or services offerings as a result of our acquisitions that are offered, priced and supported differently,
which could cause customer confusion and delays;
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we may have higher than anticipated costs in continuing support and development of acquired products or services, in general and
administrative functions that support new business models, or in compliance with associated regulations that are more complicated than
we had anticipated;
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we may be unable to obtain timely approvals from, or may otherwise have certain limitations, restrictions, penalties or other sanctions
imposed on us by, worker councils or similar bodies under applicable employment laws as a result of an acquisition, which could
adversely affect our integration plans in certain jurisdictions and potentially increase our integration and restructuring expenses;
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we may be unable to obtain required approvals from governmental authorities under competition and antitrust laws on a timely basis, if
at all, which could, among other things, delay or prevent us from completing a transaction, otherwise restrict our ability to realize the
expected financial or strategic goals of an acquisition or have other adverse effects on our current business and operations;