Oracle Extends PeopleSoft Takeover BidOracle Extends PeopleSoft Takeover Bid

Oracle is showing no signs of letting up in its bid to buy PeopleSoft Inc. The vendor has extended its $7.5 billion takeover bid though to midnight eastern time Sept. 19. The current offer--at the same price--is set to expire Aug. 15.

The extension is no surprise. An Oracle spokesman said last week that the company is fully committed to acquiring PeopleSoft. Industry experts expect Oracle to continue extending the deadline for as long as the Justice Department looks into Oracle's unsolicited bid to see if it violates antitrust regulations.

Oracle recently upped its bid to $7.5 billion from $6.3 billion. Although Oracle isn't increasing its per-share bid price, its total purchase offer is increasing to account for an additional 53 million shares of PeopleSoft stock being issued as part of that vendor's recent $1.8 billion acquisition of J.D. Edwards & Co.