A court hearing in Oracle Corp.’s lawsuit against PeopleSoft Inc. has been postponed following the U.S. government’s request for more information this week regarding Oracle’s unsolicited bid to buy the Pleasanton, Calif., software company.
The hearing has been pushed back from July 16 to July 25 by mutual consent of both parties, Oracle said Tuesday.
Oracle filed a suit against PeopleSoft last month, claiming that the company and its board were improperly thwarting PeopleSoft shareholders’ ability to accept Oracle’s US$6.3 billion offer for the company.
The move was just one twist in an industry takeover bid that has played out like a TV drama. Less than a week before Oracle filed its suit, PeopleSoft sued Oracle, accusing it of unfair business practices among other concerns.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has also been called into the fray and is investigating the takeover bid for antitrust issues. The DOJ said Monday that it would request more information on the proposed transaction, prompting the decision to delay the court hearing.
“This is simply a postponement of the hearing date, which made sense to all parties given the second request Oracle received from the Department of Justice…and the longer timetable it implies,” Oracle spokesman Jim Finn said in a statement.