Watchdog Group Urges Government to Block Oracle-PeopleSoft Deal 7/22/2003
From: Kenneth Boehm of the National Legal and Policy Center, 703-237-1970 FALLS CHURCH, Va., July 22 -- Saying Oracle's attempts to buy PeopleSoft "clearly violates federal antitrust laws," the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC) on Tuesday asked the government to block the hostile takeover. The NLPC, a legal foundation that runs the Corporate Integrity Project, said a combination of Oracle and PeopleSoft would be detrimental to software customers that include hospitals, universities, manufacturers and state governments. The NLPC wrote to the U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday to urge antitrust regulators to stop the deal. "The proposed hostile takeover of PeopleSoft by the rival software firm Oracle Corporation clearly violates federal antitrust laws," wrote Kenneth Boehm, chairman of the NLPC. "This attempted hostile acquisition would significantly reduce competition in large enterprise applications, inflict severe financial damage on PeopleSoft customers who have heavily invested in the company's software applications, and inappropriately pressure the 40 percent of PeopleSoft customers who use database products from IBM and Microsoft to switch to Oracle," Boehm wrote. The friendly acquisition of J.D. Edwards by PeopleSoft raises even more antitrust issues, Boehm said. Now Oracle's proposed takeover of PeopleSoft would result in an even larger entity -- combining the second-, third- and fourth-largest makers of business applications software. "That would further limit competition, resulting in higher prices for organizations that depend on this software to run their operations," he said. "Oracle's hostile bid is just a bad deal for all concerned." Boehm said the NLPC is weighing in on the issue because it's dedicated to promoting ethics and accountability in public life. "We believe that unethical and anticompetitive practices by corporations undermine public support for free market principles," he said. About NLPC NLPC promotes ethics, openness and accountability in government through research, education and legal action. To learn more visit http://www.nlpc.org. |