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Technology Stocks : Siebel Systems (SEBL) - strong buy? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (6760)	6/10/2003 3:03:50 PM
From: Sultan	Respond to of 6974

Personally I think he is doing exactly what PSFT claims Ellison is up to.. Not much of a bold bid as some have claimed when you think about it.. Not much of a premium and Last I had checked PSFT was sitting on about 2b in cash.. But end result probably still be consolidation and I do hope PSFT goes to some other company then ORCL..

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (6760)	6/10/2003 6:08:55 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6974

Antitrust concerns raised on Oracle bid _______________________________________ By Michelle Kessler USA TODAY Posted 6/9/2003 10:48 PM SAN FRANCISCO — Oracle's hostile takeover bid for PeopleSoft raises antitrust concerns, rival J.D. Edwards said Monday. Because Oracle plans to discontinue PeopleSoft's products, a deal would reduce choice and harm consumers — "exactly what antitrust laws are intended to protect against," J.D. Edwards' CEO Bob Dutkowsky said in a statement. Oracle Monday formally filed its offer of $16 for each PeopleSoft share and called for a meeting of the two companies. The database giant wants to incorporate PeopleSoft's business software into its own competing line. A deal at that price could be hard to pull off, merger experts say, because PeopleSoft's shares closed Monday at $17.90, up less than 1% after a big jump Friday after news of the bid came out. J.D. Edwards has a stake in the deal because PeopleSoft earlier last week said it would buy Edwards for $1.7 billion. Oracle's bid doesn't include the merger, and PeopleSoft has said Oracle is mainly out to foil the J.D. Edwards merger. Oracle says the market is "highly fragmented." Dutkowsky's remarks were "largely the posturing you'd expect" from a company ensnared in the deal, says Pacific Crest Securities analyst Brendan Barnicle. The $5.1 billion bid by Oracle would likely be examined by federal officials but won't be held back if approved by shareholders, Barnicle says. That's because a combined PeopleSoft and Oracle would control just 11% of the market for business-planning software, says researcher IDC. The deal is a sign of much-needed consolidation among tech firms, experts say. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison has long said that there is a glut of tech companies that need to be acquired. Others agree. Speedy growth during the go-go 1990s left "too many companies chasing too few customers," says Caspian Networks CEO Bill Krause, a 36-year Silicon Valley veteran. Since 2000, more than 4,800 tech companies have gone out of business or been acquired, says researcher Webmergers. The software industry alone has had 3,619 deals, says researcher FactSet Mergerstat. With struggling dot-coms gone, companies are going after healthier rivals to boost market share or product lines. Just recently: • Palm said it would buy rival Handspring. • Software maker Baan was sold to investors who plan to merge it with SSA Global Technologies. • Hewlett-Packard acquired Compaq Computer last year in the biggest tech hardware deal ever. Other recent mergers include IBM's acquisition of Rational Software and Microsoft's acquisition of Navision. Companies that are likely targets for acquisitions are those that have a big chunk of a niche market, says Martin Sikora, editor of Mergers & Acquisitions magazine. Siebel Systems, for example, dominates the market for software that helps companies track customers, but it doesn't have the breadth of an IBM or Microsoft, says IDC software analyst Tony Picardi. Sun Microsystems' stronghold is back-end computers for businesses. It has often been mentioned as a takeover target. usatoday.com