Campaigns For The Future Of PeopleSoft ContinueCampaigns For The Future Of PeopleSoft Continue

PeopleSoft Inc. and Oracle are revving up their PR machines, as each tries to sell its vision of PeopleSoft's future as the better one.

On Tuesday, PeopleSoft's board of directors released a letter to the company's shareholders reiterating its belief that Oracle's unsolicited bid to acquire PeopleSoft for approximately $6.3 billion is not in the shareholders' best interests.

In the letter, the board says such an acquisition faces a lengthy antitrust review and "a significant likelihood that, in the end, the transaction would be blocked as anticompetitive." The board and PeopleSoft's executive leadership have expressed that sentiment since Oracle revealed its plans.

The U.S. Justice Department has asked Oracle to submit more information regarding its hostile takeover bid, and such a request indicates that regulators may have some antitrust concerns. If Oracle were to succeed in the takeover, there would be only two dominant vendors in the high-end enterprise applications market, which is primarily served by Oracle, PeopleSoft, and SAP.

The board also raised questions regarding Oracle's commitment to PeopleSoft's products, saying Oracle's statements create uncertainty that could jeopardize PeopleSoft's sales and cause some employees to leave the company. "Customers will not commit millions of dollars to enterprise software that is subject to such uncertainties. Employees will not remain with a company when its business vitality and their future are in doubt," the letter states.

Oracle, however, contends that it will continue to support PeopleSoft's products and won't force any customer to migrate to Oracle products. Earlier this week, Oracle said it would take that message to PeopleSoft customers in an outreach campaign designed to reassure them of Oracle's commitment.

In a written statement, Oracle executive VP Charles Phillips said, "Let us be clear: Our acquisition of PeopleSoft makes sense for our shareholders only if we keep PeopleSoft customers happy." As part of its outreach, Oracle says it will ramp up advertising and directly contact every PeopleSoft customer.