Judge Wants PeopleSoft To Explain Why It Turned Oracle Down
378223
During a scheduling hearing Wednesday, the judge overseeing Oracle&#39;s attempt to overturn PeopleSoft&#39;s takeover defenses said he wants to know exactly why PeopleSoft has turned down Oracle&#39;s offer again.
371621
Oracle Corp. on Monday said it asked Peoplesoft Inc.&#39;s board of directors to rescind an anti-takeover provision, two days after a majority of PeopleSoft shareholders tendered their
62661
LOS ANGELES (CBS.MW) -- A Delaware judge rejected the proposed settlement of a lawsuit brought against PeopleSoft Inc. by shareholders over the company&#39;s resistance to Oracle Corp.
174111
The judge presiding over the U.S. Department of Justice's (DOJ) attempt to block Oracle Corp.'s proposed takeover of rival software maker PeopleSoft Inc. ruled in Oracle's favor on Thursday, removing one obstacle preventing the hostile acquisition.  The decision means Oracle's fifteen-month campaign to buy PeopleSoft through a $7.7 billion cash tender offer to PeopleSoft's shareholders will continue.  "Because plaintiffs have not shown by a preponderance of the evidence that the merger of Oracle and PeopleSoft is likely substantially to lessen competition in a relevant product and geographic market ... the court directs the entry of judgment against plaintiffs and in favor of defendant Oracle," U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Judge Vaughn Walker wrote in his ruling.  The decision is a setback for PeopleSoft and a significant blow to the DOJ, but it's far from a green light for Oracle. From the start, the biggest obstacle to the deal has been PeopleSoft's "poison pill," an anti-takeover provision in its bylaws that allows it to manipulate its shares to make a hostile acquisition prohibitively expensive. Oracle is challenging the legality of PeopleSoft's poison pill; trial on that case is scheduled to commence Sept. 27 in Delaware's Court of Chancery.  Oracle in a first reaction to the ruling said that it removes a significant roadblock to the acquisition. "This decision puts the onus squarely on the board of PeopleSoft to meet with us and to redeem their poison pill so that the shareholders can accept our offer," Oracle Chairman Jeffrey Henley said in a statement.  However, Oracle also has to convince PeopleSoft's shareholders to take advantage of its buyout offer. The company is offering $21 per share. So far, only 21.7 million of PeopleSoft's shares, 6 percent of the company's outstanding total, had been tendered into Oracle's offer as of Aug 27. That percentage may rise with the DOJ's defeat, as shareholders anticipate a better chance Oracle's bid will be successful.  PeopleSoft's shares (PSFT) ended trading Thursday on the Nasdaq exchange at $17.95. The shares bounced up 15.26 percent in after-hours trading to $20.69.  Oracle and PeopleSoft also remain locked in another legal battle in California's Alameda County Superior Court, where PeopleSoft has charged Oracle with unfair business practices. Oracle countered with a complaint accusing PeopleSoft of illegally refusing to seriously evaluate Oracle's bid, and of improperly creating a "customer assurance program" that could make an Oracle acquisition of PeopleSoft very costly if Oracle. The case is schedule for trial in November.
97148
Thursday&#39;s pro-Oracle Corp. decision on the US Department of Justice&#39;s attempt to block Oracle&#39;s proposed takeover of PeopleSoft Inc.
89388
Oracle will continue its full-court press for PeopleSoft this week when it plans to ask a judge to dismantle one of the last obstacles.
124069
CNET is reporting that US District Judge Vaughn Walker in San Francisco has denied a request by the Antitrust Division of the federal Department of Justice to issue an injunction against Oracle&#39;s hostile acquisition of business software maker PeopleSoft
12095
A US federal judge on Thursday gave Oracle Corp. a green light to proceed with its hostile bid to take over rival business software maker
417006
Shareholders of PeopleSoft Inc. are discussing the possibility of a new lawsuit over the company's resistance to takeover overtures from Oracle Corp., a shareholder lawyer said Monday.
349726
PEOPLESOFT IS considering a bid from its rival Oracle now that its CEO, who opposed the deal, is out of the way. Peoplesoft director Steven Goldby told a Delaware court on Tuesday that the software maker would
269362
Oracle Corp. CEO Larry Ellison testified yesterday that the business software maker is leaning toward lowering its $7.7 billion bid for rival PeopleSoft
268357
WILMINGTON, Del. - Former PeopleSoft Chief Executive Officer Craig Conway testified Wednesday that he may have overreacted to Oracle Corp.
228971
The two companies are waiting for a hearing in Delaware next week when a judge will hear evidence from PeopleSoft regarding why its board rejected Oracle&#39;s latest bid of $24 a share.
762911
With the future of its $7.7 billion takeover attempt of PeopleSoft Inc. resting in the hands of a federal judge, Oracle Corp. is once again extending its tender offer for investors to tender their shares.
354034
Sure, the PeopleSoft board told shareholders to just say no. This battle will go down to the wire, and even afterward Ellison could prevail.
4138
The judge who will decide whether to block defenses by PeopleSoft against Oracle's hostile offer urged both sides to agree on what issues remain in contention.
186356
BusinessWeek Online - For more than a year, PeopleSoft Inc.  CEO Craig Conway has battled to prevent Oracle Corp.'s  Larry Ellison from grabbing his company in a hostile takeover. Now, Conway's spirited quest has absorbed a potentially fatal blow: On Sept. 9, U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn R. Walker ruled that the Justice Dept. had no grounds to block the acquisition. While the European Community could still stop it, the legal case for halting this shotgun wedding is looking weaker by the day.