It's been more than a year since Tom Siebel was reportedly door-stepping Larry Ellison, asking the Oracle boss to take his CRM firm off his hands.
It was an image which had more in common with tea towels, clothes pegs or double glazing than large software houses but now Ellison has made the move and bought Siebel in a deal which, if approved, will set him back the best part of $5bn.
A man like Ellison tends not to move at such a sedentary rate, suggesting he either didn't really want Siebel back then, or perhaps was just waiting for the value to drop even further, which sounds likely.
Ellison already had his eye on PeopleSoft at that time and will have been aware that while there was appeal to owning PeopleSoft and Siebel, the deal for the former could prove problematic and drawn out while the latter would still be there when he made the first move on his own terms, rather than on his own doorstep.
At the time the signs weren't good for Siebel and suitors will have been in no hurry to pay over the odds.
Tom Siebel stepped down from the helm in May 2004 and his replacement, Michael Lawrie, failed to last even a year.
George Shaheen, the third CEO in less than a year, was appointed from within the company's own ranks, sparking talk of short-termism and an imminent sale.
Given that was only back in April this year, it seems quite likely the wheels were already in motion before Shaheen's appointment. And Siebel certainly needed an injection of momentum. In truth almost any deal represents a better future than the long, slow demise many predicted before Ellison swooped.
But one aspect of this deal which certainly raises eyebrows is the extent to which Ellison appears to be hedging his bets. He has a major stake in excess of 50 per cent in NetSuite, one of Siebel's fastest growing rivals, a company which favours an entirely different approach to CRM. He will also always be a part of Salesforce.com culture, having mentored CEO Marc Benioff at Oracle, though rumours have persisted that Ellison would have been keen to grow the small stake he holds there too.
Whether that opportunity still exists is a matter for the SEC, which may also be asking questions about the size of Ellison's CRM interest now across NetSuite, Oracle, PeopleSoft, Salesforce.com and Siebel.
Both NetSuite and Salesforce.com have been blunt about their feelings towards Siebel, and both have long singled out their older, larger rival as the target, rather than the acquirer, in a market which has appeared poised for consolidation.
Ironically the language they used to belittle the efforts of Siebel smacked of Ellison, with a great many of their execs having arrived via Oracle. And Ellison must now ensure the vigour and the bullishness which rubbed off to such great effect on NetSuite and Salesforce.com can be brought to bear on Siebel.
Next year NetSuite is expected - or certainly was, prior to the Siebel deal - to IPO. The talk was of a sum in the region of $1bn and about what that would do for Ellison's plans for further acquisition or consolidation within the CRM industry.
Now that he's on the brink of owning Siebel, questions will inevitably be asked about a conflict of interests and where he goes next, especially as the CEO of the majority Ellison-owned NetSuite has already described Siebel's software as "a giant hairball of a product".
Ellison himself will know NetSuite and Salesforce.com represent a more dynamic future for pure-play CRM, while Siebel is seen as something of a dinosaur. But it is a dinosaur with a lot of cash and a lot of customers. In the simplest terms all it needs now is the momentum enjoyed by its upstart rivals.
So don't rule out further acquisition along those lines because somewhere within that mix is something of a sweet-spot which Ellison certainly now has the wherewithal to strike.
