D-day looms for Oracle bid
Oracle could get a ruling on whether its plans to acquire rival PeopleSoft meets competition regulations within weeks.
Link: Oracle ‘has tricks up its sleeve’ for bid
This week Oracle has filed its proposals with the European Commission.
The filing gives regulators 30 days to respond, who will either give the green light or conduct a more detailed review of the bid.
Oracle spokesman, Jim Finn said:’We look forward to working with the Commission and are confident that [it] will see that this transaction does not raise any serious anti-trust issues.’
Oracle remains committed to growing through acquisition, said Finn. And it may want to up its efforts after seeing another potential target, Documentum, being acquired up by storage firm EMC.
By filing the papers now, Oracle is signalling that it also expects a decision from the US Department of Justice (DoJ) shortly.
In September, Oracle’s executive vice president overseeing the deal, Chuck Phillips, said he expected the European filing to be made so the European and US rulings coincide.
But even if Oracle gains approval form both regulators, it is by no means certain of succeeding.
Since the DoJ decided to examine the proposals closely, Oracle has been stuck in a holding pattern.
It continues to extend the deadline for PeopleSoft’s shareholders to accept its offer. But in the meantime PeopleSoft has concluded its buyout of JD Edwards, and its share price has risen above Oracle’s current offer price.