Oracle raps Justice Department

In a letter to PeopleSoft shareholders Wednesday, Oracle criticized the staff recommendation of the U.S. Department of Justice, which advocated challenging Oracle's hostile takeover bid for PeopleSoft. As previously reported, Oracle said the department staff was adopting a "novel" legal theory to challenge the case.

In its shareholder filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Oracle said that the Department of Justice must define a market in which a group will be harmed. "Instead, (the department) staff is attempting to utilize a novel legal theory, in which each customer is a unique market," Oracle stated in its filing. The department is expected to announce by Tuesday whether it will ultimately challenge Oracle's bid.