Oracle bested rival SAP in the battle for Retek and announced that it plans to acquire the retail software provider for $11.25 per share. SAP confirmed that it is dropping out and cited a desire to practice “financial discipline” as the chief reason. While the Oracle vs. SAP skirmish is over, another is breaking out in the telco sector. The New York Times reported this morning that both Qwest and Verizon want to buy MCI, and each penned a letter proclaiming itself the most appropriate suitor for the troubled telecom. Verizon’s chairman, in fact, wrote in his letter that any cost savings Qwest might gain by swallowing MCI were “modern fiction,” The Times reported. InfoWorld‘s own Ephraim Schwartz posted a blog entry explaining one of the reasons that SAP and Oracle were fighting over Retek. Retek is the key for reengineering the supply chain for real-time manufacturing and integrating that with real-time demand retailing, Schwartz wrote. The difference between the two bidding wars may turn out to be that Retek sold for the highest offer, while it seems MCI may not be taking Qwest’s bid all that seriously. But we might not even know that until March 28, the date MCI’s board said it would respond to Qwest. Software Development