By Jessica Guynn and Ellen Lee
California, one of the states investigating the antitrust implications of Oracle Corp.'s proposed $7.3 billion takeover of PeopleSoft Inc., likely will decide whether to pursue a legal challenge of the deal in the next month, a source familiar with the antitrust probe said Friday.
California Justice Department staff members are still gathering and analyzing information to determine if the proposed merger would lead to higher prices and cripple competition. ...
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Justice Department staff members are leaning toward recommending to R. Hewitt Pate, chief of the Justice Department's antitrust division, that the government challenge the deal in federal court in San Francisco. It cited an unnamed attorney who also said that a deposition of Oracle CEO Larry Ellison this week emphasized concerns that the proposed takeover could whittle the business software market down from three major competitors to two, Oracle and Germany's SAP. ...
"All of these things are signs of a continuing, thorough investigation," said Howard Morse, a partner with Drinker Biddle & Reath and a former federal antitrust official. "Oracle ultimately could be successful. ... The bottom line is until Hewitt Pate makes his decision, it's all speculation."