SOFTWARE INDUSTRY PeopleSoft acquires J.D. Edwards, posing new obstacle for Oracle

The deal means Oracle will have to pay more to complete its acquisition bid.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Business software maker PeopleSoft Inc. said today it has completed its acquisition of J.D. Edwards & amp; Co., a purchase that will pose a new and more expensive obstacle for Oracle Corp. in its hostile takeover bid for PeopleSoft.
The companies are three of the software industry's largest vendors.
The purchase of 110 million J.D. Edwards shares represents 88 percent of the stock, the companies said. PeopleSoft said it expects to acquire the remaining shares before the end of August. The combined purchases are valued at $1.8 billion.
Midnight deadline
PeopleSoft had set a deadline of midnight Thursday for J.D. Edwards stockholders to offer their shares for purchase at $14.74 per share, slightly more than the $14.36-per-share price estimated when the two sides revised the terms nearly a month ago.
The combined PeopleSoft and J.D. Edwards will have yearly sales of $2.8 billion, 13,000 employees and 11,000 customers in 150 countries. By comparison, Oracle has $10 billion in revenue, more than 40,000 employees and 250,000 customers in 120 countries.
Not discouraged
PeopleSoft's marriage to J.D. Edwards -- consummating a courtship that began in October 2002 -- didn't discourage Oracle, which has extended its bid to Aug. 15.
"We are in this for the long haul," Chuck Phillips, an Oracle executive vice president, told PeopleSoft and J.D. Edwards customers during a teleconference Thursday.
But Thursday's deal creates more headaches for Redwood Shores, Calif.-based Oracle.
To pull off a takeover of the combined PeopleSoft and J.D. Edwards, Oracle will have to pay more -- at least $7.3 billion in cash instead of the $6.3 billion it would have cost to get PeopleSoft alone at the current offer of $19.50 per share.