REDWOOD CITY : Oracle Corp Chief Executive Safra Catz said her company could benefit if Microsoft Corp or another rival bought online customer relationship management firm Salesforce.com Inc .
She declined comment on whether Oracle had made an approach to buy Salesforce.com, after a report on Wednesday that Salesforce.com had hired advisers after receiving an offer from an unnamed suitor.
Oracle, Microsoft and Germany`s SAP are the most likely candidates for such a big deal, according to analysts. It could top $50 billion and be the biggest software acquisition on record.
Each of those companies have declined comment, but multiple sources familiar with their thinking have poured cold water on bid speculation.
If Microsoft or another rival did buy Salesforce.com, it might help Oracle in the customer relationship management sector, said Catz.
"It would cause a lot of disruption in that market and so I would view that as something that would be helpful to us especially in the short or medium term, dependent on who it was," said Catz. "Disruption is always opportunity for the guy who is on mission and not disrupted."
Catz was speaking at a media event at Oracle`s headquarters in Silicon Valley on Thursday.
Catz and her colleague Mark Hurd were both named CEO of Oracle in September as co-founder and former CEO Larry Ellison took the titles of executive chairman and chief technology officer.
