Ever since the DoJ surprised everyone - except perhaps the reality-challenged Larry Ellison - by losing its antitrust case against Oracle in the courts, Sneak has been waiting to hear the sound of the other shoe dropping. Of course Oracle’s hostile bid for PeopleSoft is still up in the air, but there have been a few notable thuds, bangs and crashes in the last few days as things other than the second shoe have hit home. The first thud was the trap-door opening under PeopleSoft ex-chief Craig Conway. Thud two was Conway admitting he lied to shareholders about the impact of the Oracle bid. Thud three was PeopleSoft director Steven Goldby testifying (in Oracle’s anti-poison-pill lawsuit) that PeopleSoft’s board might now approve a fresh approach from Oracle – at the right price. Sneak only hopes that in all this thudding, there won’t come the sound of Larry Ellison making good on one of his many rash promises. After Conway compared Oracle’s bid to a man offering to buy a family pet purely to take it out and shoot it, Ellison said, “I love animals. If Craigy [Conway] and Bear [Conway’s dog] were standing next to each other, and I only had one bullet… Trust me - it wouldn't be for the dog.”

05 Oct 2004