DOJ Nixes Oracles PeopleSoft Takeover Bid

The Department of Justice announced Thursday that it will seek to block Oracle's $9.4 billion takeover of PeopleSoft.

The Department of Justice announced Thursday that it will seek to block Oracle Corp.s $9.4 billion takeover of PeopleSoft Corp. Assistant Attorney General R. Hewette Pate will now look to the federal courts to for an injunction blocking the hostile takeover deal on the grounds that a merger between the two e-business applications developers is anti-competitive to the software industry. Oracle launched its bid eight months ago, and its come increasingly under fire. In addition to the Justice Departments investigtion, the European Commission and more than half the U.S. states attorneys generals are investigating the deal.
The EUs decision is expected in May, while its anticipated that the states decision will follow closely on the heels of the Justice Departments decision. Here are some recent stories about the case from eWEEK.coms Oracle vs. Peoplesoft Special Report:

The American Shareholders Association argued that the acquisitions outcome should be decided solely by PeopleSoft shareholders

PeopleSoft on Monday said it had finished mailing proxy cards, the latest front in its corporate battle with Oracle

Oracles Charles Phillips recently sat down with eWEEK to discuss the PeopleSoft deal and IT issues Check out eWEEK.coms Database Center at http://database.eweek.com for more database news, views and analysis.