Judge postpones PeopleSoft decision

Oracle's efforts to remove PeopleSoft's anti-takeover measures via a court order will spill over into December, a Delaware Chancery Court judge decided Wednesday.

Vice Chancellor Leo Strine indicated he wants further details on Oracle's revised takeover offer and, particularly, why PeopleSoft's board rejected its competitor's unconditional $24-a-share offer, according to reports in the Associated Press and Dow Jones.

Strine called for a new hearing on Dec. 13 and Dec. 14 to review the matter and take in new evidence, as well as to consider Oracle's request to prevent the application of PeopleSoft's shareholder rights plan, otherwise known as a poison pill.

Oracle and PeopleSoft previously argued their positions in October during a two-week trial in the Delaware Chancery Court. At the conclusion of the trial, which largely focused on the previous considerations the companies gave to the merger and PeopleSoft's customer assurance guarantee program, Strine said he would meet with the parties in late November to further discuss whether more hearing dates would be necessary to review PeopleSoft's poison pill.

The Delaware Chancery Court, historically, has been reluctant to remove a company's poison pill, which floods the market with additional shares and makes a hostile takeover cost-prohibitive.

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