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With 89.4 percent of PeopleSoft Inc. shares in its grasp, Oracle Corp. is a hair away from closing its acquisition. It therefore announced late Tuesday evening that it is yet again extending its tender offer, until Thursday at 8 p.m. EDT.
The previous offer was set to expire on Tuesday at 8 p.m. EDT. After Oracle captures another 0.6 percent of outstanding shares, it will be able to carry out an expedited merger, permitted under Delaware law.
At this point, PeopleSoft stockholders have loosened their grip on about 357,684,588 shares at Oracles offering price of $26.50 per share.
Oracle is set to officially launch the combined company on Jan. 18 with a Webcast dubbed “Oracle and PeopleSoft—Better Together.” Oracle Co-Presidents Safra Catz and Charles Phillips will present.
In the meantime, the blood is flowing. The total number of heads on the chopping block has not yet been disclosed, but Oracles head of PR, Jim Finn, has been quoted in the media as saying that the total headcount decision will be made known by Jan. 15.
Until then, executives of both companies are falling to the cutting-room floor. Oracle quietly replaced two of its own top executives last week, unseating Executive Vice President of Application Development Ron Wohl and Mike Rocha, executive vice president for global support services—two positions that are pivotal in the area of enterprise applications.
Rocha is leaving, but Wohl will stay with Oracle in an as-yet-unnamed position. Oracle will disclose changes in executive roles, as well as PeopleSoft integration plans, Jan. 26 at Oracles analyst day event in New York.
Oracle also bumped four PeopleSoft executives last week, switching its own Catz and Phillips in as co-presidents of the combined companies and ditching PeopleSoft Co-President and Chief Financial Officer Kevin T. Parker, Co-President W. Phillip Wilmington, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Nanci Caldwell, and James P. Shaughnessy, senior vice president, general counsel and secretary, according to a regulatory filing made on Thursday.