PeopleSoft buys remaining J.D. Edwards stock

Business software maker PeopleSoft announced on Friday that it has purchased all the remaining shares of J.D. Edwards.

PeopleSoft said it bought about 105 million shares of J.D. Edwards when it acquired the company July 18. PeopleSoft will pay $7.05 in cash and 0.43 of a share for each remaining J.D. Edwards share that was not tendered in July.

PeopleSoft CEO Craig Conway expressed confidence that the merger will be successful.

"Over the last month, we have moved rapidly to integrate the two companies," Conway said in a statement. "I am more confident than ever that this combination will result in enhanced value for shareholders."

The combined companies will catapult PeopleSoft past Oracle to take the No. 2 spot among business application providers behind SAP. PeopleSoft announced its plans to acquire smaller business software maker J.D. Edwards in June.

The two companies accelerated their merger process in an attempt to thwart a hostile takeover bid from Oracle. However, Oracle's offer to purchase PeopleSoft--even after its acquisition of J.D. Edwards--is still standing.

In an interview with CNET News.com, Conway said Oracle's hoped-for acquisition of PeopleSoft has, in practice, failed. But Oracle executives have made it clear that they will continue their goal to buy PeopleSoft, even if it takes several months or a year.