Perhaps on-demand customer relationship management software company NetSuite Inc. [N] is taking a page from its majority owner's strategic playbook.

The company, which is 54%-owned by Oracle Corp. [ORCL] CEO Larry Ellison, on Monday took a tentative step in that direction, announcing that it would pay $26 million in cash to acquire OpenAir Inc., a provider of automated professional services software. The purchase price is net of the 56-person startup's cash, NetSuite said.

OpenAir's on-demand software suite offers applications ranging from expense reports to work flow and resource management tools. Founded in 1999, the company has raised over $16 million from investors including Fidelity Capital, 3i Group plc, i-Hatch Ventures LLC and Rex Capital.

NetSuite, also a software-as-service provider, offers tools that helps small and midsize businesses manage their customer relationships and enterprise resource planning needs. The company went public in December using W.R. Hambrecht + Co. LLC's little-used Dutch OpenIPO auction process to set the price of the offering. NetSuite shares closed up 37% on its first day of trading, at $35.50.

The OpenAir deal is NetSuite's first acquisition as a public company. Ellison has arranged his NetSuite holdings in a manner that reduces his influence at the company, but that doesn't mean the success he has gained by buying up smaller competitors won't influence NetSuite.

NetSuite shares declined 2.6%, to $22.17, in morning trading Monday. - Olaf de Senerpont Domis

See June 2 press release on OpenAir acquisition via Yahoo! Finance
See October 2007 post on Ellison and NetSuite from Tech Confidential
See December 2007 story on NetSuite's IPO from Tech Confidential