Oracle Ups Offer

Oracle announced this morning that it has increased its bid for the outstanding shares of PeopleSoft from $16.00 per share to $19.50, which raises the total value of the intended transaction from $5.1 billion to $6.3 billion. Oracle says the current offer price is a 29 percent premium over the stock's price prior to Oracle's June 6 offer. "In the last few days, Oracle executives have had the opportunity to speak with the holders of a majority of PeopleSoft shares," Oracle Chairman and CEO Larry Ellison said in a statement. "Many of those shareholders indicated the prices at which they would tender their shares. Therefore, Oracle is raising its all-cash offer to $19.50 per share. Oracle remains committed to acquiring PeopleSoft and will not be deterred by management's maneuvers to maintain control of a company they do not own. Contrary to what PeopleSoft management would have you believe, Oracle intends to fully support PeopleSoft customers and products for many years to come. Satisfying those customers is the key to the success of this acquisition." Oracle says that even with the increased price, the acquisition will still be accretive to earnings. In addition, Oracle says it is filing a suit in a Delaware court against PeopleSoft, claiming that it illegally attempted to halt stockholders from selling their shares in the company. Robb Eklund, vice president of CRM marketing at Oracle, says that the increase proves Oracle is serious about the merger, and adds that the deal would be "win-win" for shareholders and customers of Oracle, as well as PeopleSoft. "We have maintained that we intend to offer PeopleSoft users an even higher level of support than they would normally receive going forward," Eklund says. "Also, there is little risk for PeopleSoft shareholders, because this is an all-cash offer."