Oracle already eyeing other software makers

Inspired by PeopleSoft debacle

By Ashlee Vance in Chicago • Get more from this author

Posted in Software, 2nd December 2004 21:31 GMT

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If you thought Oracle's attempt to acquire PeopleSoft has been fun, then hang on for a series of wild rides. Oracle is in a buying kind of mood, according to its president.

"We have said all along that there are multiple acquisition possibilities," Oracle's co-president Charles Phillips told Reuters in an interview. "We are talking to other companies as we speak. We have multiple ideas."

Companies such as Veritas and BEA have been tossed out numerous times as possible targets of the database dandy. Smaller software makers would also likely appear on Oracle's wish list.

And why shouldn't Oracle boast about its acquisitive intentions? Oracle has proven that it can stomach just about anything in the M&A field, during its protracted battle to buy PeopleSoft.

As a reminder, the PeopleSoft fiasco isn't done yet. The two companies are set to appear next month before a Delaware judge to argue over PeopleSoft's poison pill provision that is currently blocking Oracle from acquiring the firm.

With all these deals and court battles going down, Santa, or whoever, will smile upon the spawn of Oracle's legal staff this holiday season. And it looks like the presents could roll in for years to come if Oracle makes good on its software consolidation threats. ®