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EU Suspends Oracle-PeopleSoft Probe

EU Suspends Oracle-PeopleSoft Probe
By Maureen O'Gara
Article Rating:
January 16, 2004 12:00 AM EST
Reads:
 16,435
The EU has stopped weighing the proposed $7.3 billion Oracle-PeopleSoft takeover while it waits on Oracle to produce some unidentified additional information.

The EU's antitrust people were supposed to say yes or no by the end of March. Now everything is up in the air although Oracle contends it's still committed to buying PeopleSoft whether PeopleSoft likes it or not.

Meanwhile, Oracle is expecting a decision out of the Justice Department by early March. According to CNET, the DOJ wants a word with Oracle Larry Ellison, but no such interview has been put on Larry's calendar.

Otherwise the agency is still surveying industry players. Canada and some of states attorneys general are also investigating the bid.

One theory suggests that maybe the EU is trying to coordinate its review with that of the Justice Department.

It's now eight months since Oracle first made its hostile tender offer. PeopleSoft continues to do what it can to evade Oracle. Its board has just approved a $200 million stock buyback program that could raise the price of its stock and make it more expensive for Oracle. It also extended its controversial refund scheme until March 31 or wherever Oracle drops its bid. That's where it promises customers somewhere between two to five times their money back if Oracle takes over.

Published January 16, 2004 – Reads 16,435
Copyright © 2004 SYS-CON Media, Inc. — All Rights Reserved.
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More Stories By Maureen O'Gara

Maureen O'Gara the most read technology reporter for the past 20 years, is the Cloud Computing and Virtualization News Desk editor of SYS-CON Media. She is the publisher of famous "Billygrams" and the editor-in-chief of "Client/Server News" for more than a decade. One of the most respected technology reporters in the business, Maureen can be reached by email at maureen(at)sys-con.com or paperboy(at)g2news.com, and by phone at 516 759-7025.

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