EU Objects to Oracle’s Bid for PeopleSoft

Oracle announced Friday it received a “statement of objections” from the European Commission (EC), although it did not specify what the complaint entailed. The company would not comment further than to say it was expecting a clarification from the EC next week. The EC’s final decision is expected to be issued on or before May 11.

“We are pleased to have clarity on what the Commission’s key issues are and we will address these issues through our written right of reply and in our hearing testimony,” Oracle spokesman Jim Finn said in a statement. “The process is ongoing and we are confident that the Commission will see how competitive this business truly is.”

The EC notification comes in the same week Oracle met face to face with the U.S. Department of Justice in U.S. District Court in San Francisco as part of a pre-trial proceeding. The DoJ and seven states filed suit to stop the controversial takeover deal citing anti-completive protection. On Wednesday, a federal judge scheduled the trial for June 7, two weeks earlier than both Oracle and the DoJ anticipated. Both sides are scheduled to give updates in a March 19 phone conference. Lawyers are expected to be back in the courtroom April 16 to set additional pre-trial motion dates. The trial date gives each side about 60 days for discovery and to compile a witness list.

See the complete article by Michael Singer on Internetnews.

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