As Foes Stew, SAP Ascends

With all eyes riveted on Oracle's (ORCL Quote) hostile bid to take over PeopleSoft(PSFT Quote), Germany's SAP(SAP Quote), a far less flamboyant company headed by a far less flamboyant CEO, is increasingly positioned to be the real winner.

"SAP is sitting in the catbird seat," said Betsy Burton, an analyst with the influential Gartner research group. "They are sitting outside the fray and customers are going to view them as a safe choice," she said.

Indeed, Wall Street is already casting that vote. Since Oracle announced its intention Friday morning to buy PeopleSoft for $5.1 billion, or $16 a share, SAP shares have appreciated by 11%, closing Tuesday at $32.73. ...