Adobe to acquire San Mateo's Marketo for $4.75 billion

In an effort to expand its cloud-based marketing business, Adobe Systems said Thursday it will acquire San Mateo-based Marketo for $4.75 billion.

Marketo specializes in digital marketing software for businesses. The company's software is used by businesses to keep track of what customers do online so that they can deliver more personalized promotions and product offerings.

The deal is Adobe's largest-ever acquisition. Adobe has made digital marketing and data analysis a bigger part of its push into cloud-based services, and the company intends on merging Marketo's technology with its current marketing services.

Marketo is currently owned by private equity firm Vista Equity Partners Management. Adobe said it expects the deal to close during the fourth quarter of its current fiscal year.