Oracle’s PeopleSoft Offer May Not Be Last

Oracle Corp. director Joseph Grundfest told a Delaware court Thursday that the offer of $21 a share now on the table in the company’s attempt to buy PeopleSoft Inc. may not be the final offer.

Grundfest said Oracle’s board had evaluated whether to extend the current tender offer, but he asked to consult with counsel when asked what the board had decided.

The Oracle attorney who had posed the question withdrew it but asked again whether people should assume that the current price was the last one PeopleSoft would see.

“No,” Grundfest said.

Oracle is trying to persuade a Delaware Chancery Court to remove two anti-takeover defenses that PeopleSoft has employed to stop Oracle’s $7.7-billion hostile takeover bid.

Redwood City, Calif.-based Oracle launched its bid for Pleasanton, Calif.-based PeopleSoft 16 months ago.

The Oracle director’s comments came at the close of his testimony on the fourth day of the trial.

Grundfest, a professor of law at Stanford University, ducked a question on whether PeopleSoft shareholders should expect the price to move up or down.

“We haven’t said anything publicly about that,” he said.

Until last week, the threat of U.S. antitrust action also was a factor in the takeover play, as Oracle repeatedly extended its offer. The Justice Department dropped its antitrust challenge to the combination last week, after losing a court bid to stop the deal.

Also Thursday, the European Union set a new deadline of Nov. 9 to conclude its antitrust review of Oracle’s takeover bid. The European Commission originally opposed the proposed deal but now is expected to clear it after having gathered additional information during the summer from Oracle about the software market.

Oracle shares rose 5 cents to $12.29, and PeopleSoft fell 13 cents to $22.53, both on Nasdaq.