Oracle Bid May Not Clear Until November

Oracle Corp.’s $7.25-billion hostile offer to acquire PeopleSoft Inc. may not clear an antitrust investigation by the Justice Department until November, Oracle Executive Vice President Chuck Phillips said.

Oracle, the world’s third-largest software maker, is compiling information about the software industry and the markets in which it operates, as the Justice Department has requested, Phillips said.

The timing may mean that Redwood City, Calif.-based Oracle will have to extend its bid. On Aug. 8, the company pushed back the deadline to Sept. 19 for PeopleSoft investors to decide whether to accept Oracle’s offer to buy their shares for $19.50 each.

Oracle shares fell 3 cents to $12.12. Shares of Pleasanton, Calif.-based PeopleSoft rose 8 cents to $16.99. Both trade on Nasdaq.