Oracle's Phillips: Oracle Committed To PeopleSoft Deal
Wednesday September 3, 7:20 pm ET
By Mark Boslet, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
PALO ALTO, Calif. (Dow Jones)--Oracle Corp. remains committed to the purchase of software rival PeopleSoft Inc. (NasdaqNM:PSFT - News) , despite the hostile nature of the deal, Executive Vice President Chuck Phillips said.
"We remain patient," Phillips said, as Department of Justice regulators continue their review of the proposed $7.3 billion transaction. He did not say when he expected the review to be completed.
Phillips made his statements on an Oracle-sponsored conference call held to assure PeopleSoft customers they would receive support from Oracle should the purchase take place. Oracle is not going to "shut down" PeopleSoft's application software or force users to convert to competing Oracle products, he said.
The conference call was the second Oracle has held for PeopleSoft customers since it launched a June 9 tender offer for the company. Oracle extended the offer in the weeks that followed and raised its bid to $19.50 a share, but has yet to win over PeopleSoft management.
Instead, PeopleSoft completed the purchase of software developer J.D. Edwards & Co. and fought the Oracle plan in court.
On the conference call, Phillips and Executive Vice President Mike Rocha said Oracle would continue to update PeopleSoft products after the purchase. The company has vowed not to extend the PeopleSoft line beyond its current versions.
They also promised round-the-clock product support. "You are gaining a stable software provider that will be here in the future," Phillips told the customers.
There were, however, suggestions that the battle between PeopleSoft and Oracle wasn't going to end soon. Oracle spokesman James Finn said Oracle had been excluded from appearing at PeopleSoft's user conference planned for Anaheim, Calif., in two weeks.
Oracle plans instead to hold one-on-one meetings with interested customers. " This is going to be a long race ahead of us," Finn said.
By Mark Boslet, Dow Jones Newswires; 650-496-1366; mark.boslet@dowjones.com |
