Ellison speaks out on PeopleSoft bid

London, 25 Jun 2003

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison has predicted that PeopleSoft shareholders will ultimately accept his $6.3 billion hostile bid for PeopleSoft, but has not ruled out the possibility that the bid will be increased further.

Ellison has been the subject of intense media focus thanks to Oracle`s hostile takeover bid. Fielding questions from reporters at the Oracle AppsWorld conference in London this week, Ellison said: "Craig Conway (PeopleSoft`s chief executive) has said to us that he will not sell to us for any price, which is obviously a difficult place for anyone to begin any kind of negotiation, but fortunately for us, it is a decision that will be taken by the shareholders.

"It`s always easier to say you`re not going to take the money when it`s not your money that you`re talking about, after all."

Ellison also dismissed stories that Oracle was planning to discontinue PeopleSoft`s products, should his company succeed in its bid.

"We are not going to kill any PeopleSoft products. We are actually going to extend support for PeopleSoft 7 for another couple of years, which is more than they were planning to do, since PeopleSoft were planning to end support for this product at the end of this year.

"As for PeopleSoft 8, we will happily extend support for that product for another 10 years if needs be," he said.

"What we did say was that we would not be actively marketing any of PeopleSoft`s products. In other words, we will not be advertising them in any way, but we will keep supplying to both existing customers and any new customers that choose to come on board."

He said his company will continue upgrading the PeopleSoft products for years to come, but also plans to offer clients a price-neutral option to upgrade to Oracle`s e-Business Suite, should they choose to do so.

"We will not be forcing them to switch to the e-Business Suite. If customers wish to remain with the PeopleSoft product range, that will be just fine, but we will be offering them the option of switching. We believe in giving them a choice."

Ellison is still convinced that Oracle will succeed in its bid, as he has confidence that the will of the majority will prevail when it comes to making the decision on whether to sell or not.

"I believe in majority rule, and I know the majority of the shareholders are happy with our offer, but it does pose an interesting question: what happens when the wants and needs of the shareholders diverge with the wants and needs of the management team?"

Asked whether Oracle would consider increasing its offer, after having already said the majority of PeopleSoft`s shareholders were happy with his company`s initial offer, Ellison replied: "To quote Sean Connery, I think one should never say never."