Tuesday, November 2, 2004
Oracle set a all-cash bid for Peoplesoft at $24 a share, valued at $8.8 billion. The company said this is its "best and final offer", and would drop the bid if the offer would be rejected by midnight Nov. 19.
The latest proposal is also contingent on the elimination of PeopleSoft's anti-takeover defenses, which include a customer-rebate program that could boost the takeover cost by at least $2.4 billion. Oracle has challenged PeopleSoft's defenses in court, and awaits a decision.
PeopleSoft's board, in a statement Monday, advised shareholders to take no action until directors reviewed Oracle's latest offer. The statement noted it rejected Oracle's highest bid of $26 per share in February.
Oracle dropped the price to $21 per share in May due to softness in the software industry.
"Everyone expected that after spending a year and a half and almost $100 million on lawyers and bankers on its bid, Oracle won't get the deal done at $21," says analyst Bruce Richardson of AMR Research. "If it doesn't doesn't happen at $24, Oracle can throw up its hands and walk away."
By: DocMemory
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