According to reports, billing firm Intec Telecom Systems is in preliminary takeover talks with software and networking giant Oracle.

Intec issued a profits warning last week and is known to be courting other prospective buyers including private equity group Hg Capital.

According to Ovum analyst Eirwen Nichols, “Intec would certainly provide Oracle with a solid customer base in retail billing… Intec has a good reputation in mediation products and wholesale billing, where it is a market leader. At heart, Intec is a product company, although it has had to build up its service arm over the past 18 months to support SingleView deployments. This means it would fit well into the Oracle business model, if not necessarily the California style of the company.”

Nichols adds: “However, pitching for a second acquisition before the Metasolv deal is finalised will stretch the capabilities of Oracle’s new Communications Business Unit. And we’re not even beginning to think about technical integration. Whoever buys Intec, this is yet another indication that medium-sized ISVs cannot survive in today’s highly competitive telecoms market without a rich backer.”