D-day looms for Oracle bid

Oracle could get a ruling within weeks on whether its plan to acquire rival PeopleSoft meets with competition regulations.

The software giant filed its proposals with the European Commission this week, giving regulators 30 days to respond. They will either give the green light or conduct a more detailed review of the bid.

Oracle spokesman Jim Finn said: "We look forward to working with the Commission and are confident that it will see that this transaction does not raise any serious anti-trust issues."

Oracle remains committed to growing through acquisition, and may want to up its efforts after seeing another potential target, Documentum, being snapped up by storage firm EMC.

By filing the papers now, Oracle is also signalling that it expects a quick decision from the US Department of Justice (DoJ).

In September, Oracle's executive vice president overseeing the deal, Chuck Phillips, said that he expected the European filing to be made so that the European and US rulings coincide.

But, even if Oracle gains approval from both regulators, it is by no means certain of succeeding.

Since the DoJ decided to examine the proposals more closely, Oracle has been stuck in a holding pattern.

The company continues to extend the deadline for PeopleSoft's shareholders to accept its offer.

But, in the meantime, PeopleSoft has concluded its buyout of JD Edwards, and its share price has risen above Oracle's current offer price.