Report: Oracle may take DOJ to court in PeopleSoft bid

Oracle Corp. is preparing to battle U.S. regulators in court if they move to block the company’s $9.4 billion takeover bid for PeopleSoft Inc., according to a report published Thursday.

Oracle Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison is currently rallying support from members of the company’s board for a court fight in anticipation of a possible decision by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to oppose the deal, according to the online edition of the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

Earlier this week, PeopleSoft said officials from the DOJ’s antitrust division recommended that the department block the proposed acquisition.

The DOJ is expected to make a final decision by March 2, 2004.

PeopleSoft has said that the acquisition would significantly reduce competition in the enterprise software market, and has been lobbying the DOJ in its case.

According to the WSJ report, Oracle plans to argue that the business software market has been too narrowly defined and players such as Microsoft Corp. have not been accounted for.

Oracle representatives in the U.K. declined to comment on the report Thursday.

Despite the recommendation to block the buy, Oracle representatives made clear this week that they were not ready to give up on the deal. In a statement released Tuesday, Oracle said it believes the acquisition will eventually be approved.