Oracle Now Owns PeopleSoft

Oracle(ORCL) announced that 75% of PeopleSoft's(PSFT) common shares have been tendered into its $26.50 buyout offer, giving it control of the software company.

Oracle has named four of its representatives to PeopleSoft's board, replacing two resigning PeopleSoft members and giving the acquirer majority board representation.

Oracle's tender offer expired last night, although the deadline is a formality in light of the companies' merger agreement, and Oracle announced a new offering period that ends Jan. 4. About 299 million PeopleSoft shares have been sold to Oracle.

The news comes one day after news emerged that David Duffield, who founded PeopleSoft and then returned to the company as chairman and CEO, has resigned.

Duffield returned to PeopleSoft earlier this year when the board of directors fired CEO Craig Conway, who had bitterly opposed the deal with Oracle and alienated other senior executives with his abrasive, imperious style. At the time, Duffield said he didn't return to sell the company, but after his shareholders voted to accept a $24-a-share offer and Oracle then raised its bid to $26.50 a share, the board of directors surrendered and agreed to merge.

In the same filing, the company disclosed that it is terminating a $125,000-a-month consulting agreement with Aneel Bhusri, the vice chairman of the board. The consulting fee was in addition to Bhusri's regular compensation as a board member.

The filing did not specify the nature of Bhusri's consulting duties, and a company representative could not be reached for comment.

The merger will be completed early next year. So far, other management changes that will affect the two companies have not been announced. Oracle is expected to announce a new organization structure at its analyst meeting on Jan. 26.

Speaking at Oracle's user convention last month, CEO Larry Ellison said layoffs will hit both Oracle and PeopleSoft, but the only specific jobs he mentioned were those at the top of the organization chart. "We won't need two CEOs or two CFOs," he said.

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