Oracle, PeopleSoft saga takes further twist

By Stuart Finlayson

Just when it seemed that a resolution to the interminably protracted hostile takeover bid of PeopleSoft by Oracle may be close, European antitrust regulators have dashed any such notion by suspending their decision on whether to approve or veto Oracle's bid until the company provides additional information.

The European Commission had set itself a deadline of March 30 to inform Oracle whether or not it intended to block the move, but following the failure of Oracle to provide information by a certain deadline, the EC has opted to stop the clock on the deadline until the requested information is in its hands.

The EC intends to add the number of days that Oracle submits the information after the due date to its deadline, so if it is seven days late, the EC will extend its deadline from March 30 to April 6.

Meanwhile, as it attempts to fight off Oracle's advances, PeopleSoft has announced a further stock buyback plan, less that a month after completing a previous stock repurchase.

The company is to buy back a further US$200 million worth of shares, in addition to the US$350 in stock it bought back a few weeks earlier. The move is designed to make Oracle's task more difficult as it looks to acquire enough shares to take control of its rival.

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