The European Commission (EC) said on Thursday that it has paused its antitrust investigation into Oracle Corp.’s bid to buy rival Peoplesoft Inc. because it is seeking more information from Oracle.
The Commission decided to suspend the review on Wednesday, according to an EC spokesperson for competition issues. A decision on the proposed buy was expected on May 11 but no new deadline has been set to replace it, she said. The EC has requested information on Oracle’s market position in human resources and financial management software, the spokesperson said.
“We can confirm that we have received the request from the European Commission for additional information on our proposed transaction for PeopleSoft. We will continue to cooperate with the Commission and will respond as quickly as possible,” Oracle’s vice-president of corporate communications Jim Finn said in a statement.
Oracle received the EC request on April 7, according to an Oracle spokesperson in the U.K.
The Commission previously suspended its in-depth investigation of the proposed takeover in January to gather more information about the deal from Oracle. The Commission was originally due to conclude its probe of the proposed merger by March 30.
