Judge: Oracle, PeopleSoft Drawn Closer
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WILMINGTON, Del.  - The trial pitting software  giant Oracle Corp. ORCL.O against unwilling takeover target  PeopleSoft Inc. PSFT.O ended on Friday with a Delaware  judge's comment that recent developments seemed to have drawn  the bitter rivals closer together.
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A Delaware judge on Wednesday said he likely would need to hear additional testimony before ruling on Oracle Corp.&#39;s (ORCL.O: Quote, Profile, Research
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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.
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A U.S. federal judge on Thursday gave Oracle Corp. a green light to proceed with its hostile bid to take over rival business software maker PeopleSoft Inc., rejecting the government's bid to block the &#36;7.7 billion deal.
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Oracle Corp.&#39;s takeover tug-of-war with rival business software maker PeopleSoft Inc. intensified Tuesday as two shareholders who own nearly 20 percent of PeopleSoft&#39;s stock indicated they are prepared to line up on opposite sides of the battle lines.
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It&#39;s the little victories... As Oracle (nasdaq: ORCL - news - people ) awaits the resumption of its court battle with takeover target PeopleSoft (nasdaq: PSFT - news - people ), two of the software giant&#39;s
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NEW YORK - 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.
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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.
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CHICAGO/SAN FRANCISCO  - Options traders have been  building bullish positions in PeopleSoft Inc.  PSFT.O as  investors bet a federal judge will approve Oracle Corp.'s  hostile takeover bid of the business software maker, traders  said on Monday.
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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.
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Oracle Corp. won permission yesterday from a federal judge to proceed with its $7.7 billion hostile bid for PeopleSoft Inc. , reviving a battle that PeopleSoft said drove customers to competitors.
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Oracle may yet prevail, but not because its target is surrendering. Digging in for a long fight is more likely. When PeopleSoft&#39;s board of directors fired Chief Executive Craig Conway on Oct. 1, Wall Street
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It looks as though the European Commission is getting ready to permit  Oracle's (Nasdaq: ORCL) US&#36;7.7 billion hostile takeover bid of PeopleSoft (Nasdaq: PSFT). The ruling, which has been  widely anticipated after a similar consideration in the United States also  paved the way for Oracle's takeover, is expected to be handed down before the  end of October.
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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.
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A PeopleSoft Inc. PSFT.O board  member told a Delaware court on Tuesday that the software maker  would consider a bid from its rival Oracle Corp. ORCL.O  provided the price was right and a deal closed quickly.
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Software stocks rose on Friday on speculation there may be more mergers in the industry after a US judge allowed Oracle Corp. to proceed with its takeover of rival PeopleSoft Inc.
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Judge may order more testimony over PeopleSoft&#39;s use of poison pills to thwart an Oracle takeover. WILMINGTON, Del.,  - The Delaware judge presiding over Oracle Corp.