Oracle says it remains 'fully committed' to buying rival PeopleSoft, and has pushed back the deadline for investors to tender their shares

Oracle announced on Friday that it was extending to mid-September its deadline for tendering shares in its hostile bid for PeopleSoft.

"We are extending our offer for PeopleSoft and we remain fully committed to acquiring PeopleSoft," Jim Finn, an Oracle spokesman, said in a statement.

Oracle pushed its tender offer deadline to 19 September, a move largely anticipated since federal antitrust regulators have yet to issue a decision on whether to challenge Oracle's buyout bid. As of Friday, PeopleSoft investors had tendered 37.7 million shares, or roughly 10 percent of outstanding shares.

"The rejection notices just keep piling up," said Steve Swasey, a PeopleSoft spokesman, referring to the pace at which shares were being tendered. "Shareholders of PeopleSoft believe PeopleSoft has a better plan" than Oracle's takeover.

The 19 September deadline is the third extension Oracle has announced since it launched its hostile bid for PeopleSoft in early June. But it is not uncommon to see such deadlines pushed back in a hostile bid, as acquiring companies try to collect more than 50 percent of outstanding shares of the target companies, proxy solicitors said.

Oracle had previously set a15 August deadline for PeopleSoft investors to tender their shares.

Meanwhile, Oracle and PeopleSoft will also update the Delaware Chancery Court on 15 September as to when they would like a hearing scheduled to address Oracle's attempt to remove PeopleSoft's antitakeover measure, or "poison pill."

CNET News.com's Dawn Kawamoto contributed to this report

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