Oracle will not swallow 'poison pill'

Daily Newsletters

Sign up to ZDNet UK's daily newsletter.

NEWS
Oracle's hostile takeover bid for rival software maker PeopleSoft will expire 7 July, but Oracle expects to extend the offer, according to the formal offer filed Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The deal also requires PeopleSoft's board of directors to invalidate their "poison pill", a move designed to make a stock less attractive to a prospective buyer, in order for it to go forward. Oracle stunned the software community on Friday when it launched a $5.1bn (£3.2bn) hostile bid for PeopleSoft, only a few days after PeopleSoft announced a $1.7bn (£1.03bn) merger with J.D. Edwards. According to the new filing, on 5 June, 2003, Oracle and PeopleSoft entered into negotiations at PeopleSoft's bequest "concerning the possibility of combining the applications businesses of the two companies". The discussion was "general in nature" and no valuation was discussed. But a few days later the companies concluded they couldn't come to a mutually agreeable decision, and the matter was dropped, the Oracle filing states. On Friday, Oracle sent a letter to PeopleSoft's board of directors, telling them about the takeover bid. Oracle says the board has not yet approved the offer or otherwise commented on it as of the date of the offer to purchase. But PeopleSoft's chief executive, Craig Conway, said in a statement on Friday that the bid was "atrociously bad behaviour from a company with a history of atrociously bad behaviour" and characterised the offer as "a transparent attempt" to disrupt PeopleSoft's own bid to acquire J.D. Edwards. Oracle said in its filing that it has $6bn (£3.64bn) in cash on hand, more than enough to cover the terms of initial deal. But it has arranged for a $5bn revolving credit facility with Credit Suisse First Boston, which it would also draw on to pay shareholders. The database software giant did confirm that it intends to discontinue "the active sale of (PeopleSoft's) products to new customers". Oracle can back out of the offer if another bid is made for PeopleSoft, the filing states. There has been much speculation that another software rival could make a bid for the company, with IBM, SAP and Microsoft all listed by industry observers as possible bidders. If the merger is completed, Oracle will be "providing enhanced and extended support for (PeopleSoft's) products, incorporating advanced features from the company's products into future versions of the Oracle eBusiness Suite, facilitating the migration path for the company's customers from the company's products to the Oracle eBusiness Suite, and substantially reducing operating expenses," Oracle states. The merger would definitely boost Oracle's share of the application software business, although the company would still come in second behind SAP. Oracle, the world's No. 2 software maker, makes most of its money from database software sales. Oracle said in the filing that it does not anticipate any problems with antitrust issues. The acquisition would technically be conducted through a special purchasing firm, Pepper Acquisition, a subsidiary of Oracle.
See the Finance News Section for the latest financial news in the high-tech sector. Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom.

Post your comment

In order to post a comment you need to be registered and logged in.

You can also log in with Facebook. Log in or create your ZDNet UK account below

  • Login

Will not be displayed with your comment

By signing up for this service, you indicate that you agree to our Terms and Conditions and have read and understood our Privacy Policy. Questions about membership? Find the answers in the Community FAQ

Get ZDNet UK's daily newsletter

Enter your email address to sign up

ZDNet UK Live

tinycg

Don't forget to check out apps like GoodReader or SlideShark either, they're indispensible for people on the go in presentation situations. Best...

2 hours ago by tinycg on Four top iPad apps for people on the move
TerryRK

Well it seems there is something a number of us agree on. Why is the Ubuntu Unity launcher so ugly? I thought perhaps it was something to do with...

7 hours ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Freebies202

Duplicate comments are not made intentionally. Its very good to know that now you are keeping check on this problem because sometimes a commenter...

16 hours ago by Freebies202 on Microsoft fixes blog comments, speeds up blogs with open source
kevinmchapman

"the very significant number of users" and "many (most) of us" - you have no evidence for these statements. It is a fact that most users are saying...

24 hours ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Marg Menzies Harrison

Another grammar faux pas is the improper use of "you". When sitting down down in a restaurant, for example, I get cringe when the waitress...

1 day ago by Marg Menzies Harrison via Facebook on 10 flagrant grammar mistakes that make you look stupid
zdnetukuser

And NOW, folks, for Canonical's next trick... Kubuntu is late. Here's a pencil. Draw your own conclusions. cf.:...

1 day ago by zdnetukuser on Linux Minterface
Moley

@kevinmchapman. The discussion here reflects the very significant number of users who really do like the traditional menu system and who wish to...

1 day ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

Er, no... It is an efficient means of finding the application/file/setting you need in one place. The icons are a simply a fallback for when you...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

Isn't the provision of a text based search an admission by the developers that the mass of icons approach does not work? I don't need to use a...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
kevinmchapman

"Unity and GNOME 3 both abandon the old text-based cascading menus in favour of a graphical icon-driven system." Point truly missed. Both use a...

1 day ago by kevinmchapman on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
TerryRK

whs001 - Thank you, I'm glad you liked the article. I absolutely agree with you on your first point. I should perhaps have made it clearer that...

1 day ago by TerryRK on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Dennis Nilsson

If we allow corporate interest to dictate the way our government circumvents due process against foreign entities then we should accept the same...

1 day ago by Dennis Nilsson via Facebook on ACTA stumbles in Germany
GHar123

I totally dislike pirating of works, I fear that artists will be deterred from creating works if they think that they are going to get ripped off....

1 day ago by GHar123 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
JCB33

How dare film makers, artists or anybody that invests in creativity stop us pirating their works for free. I want to be able to walk into my local...

2 days ago by JCB33 on ACTA stumbles in Germany
Moley

@GrueMaster. I prefer horses for courses rather than one size fits all. I, and I suspect most other computer users, do not really wish to have...

2 days ago by Moley on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
greycynic

The product that scares me every time I have to use it is the Office 2007 version of Excel. The first bug that I found was applying the median...

2 days ago by greycynic on Ten flawed products that derail productivity
GrueMaster

Nice review and very informative. One thing I'd like to add (in reply to whs001's 1st question), the main reason to have the same interface from...

2 days ago by GrueMaster on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Frederick Wrigley

I'be been using Mint 12 since the RC came out, and I am far more happy with the Cinnamon, the Mate, and, yes (with extensions), theGnome 3...

2 days ago by Frederick Wrigley via Facebook on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
bdantas

Excellent article. One small correction, though--although a fresh installation of Linux Mint 12 will, indeed, provide the user with a version of...

2 days ago by bdantas on A tale of two distros: Ubuntu and Linux Mint
Alan Ralph

In related news, the ISPs club together to get the members of the Home Affairs Select Committee (ya goofed on that part, ZDNet UK) copies of "The...

2 days ago by Alan Ralph via Facebook on MPs urge ISPs to take down terrorist material