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Oracle plays the Microsoft card on PeopleSoft deal
EC could beat US to banning deal

By Ron Coates

Published: Thursday 01 April 2004

Oracle has warned European antitrust officials of the dangers of Microsoft sweeping all before it if the big O is stopped from taking over PeopleSoft.

In a closed door session on Wednesday, Oracle argued that the Commission was defining its terms too narrowly and should take account of Microsoft's attempts to march up the enterprise-software chain.

And the company said that the takeover was 'pro-competitive' in that it would allow it to compete more effectively with SAP and Microsoft.

But, according to leaked reports, the antitrust officials remained concerned that the takeover would leave only two players in the European enterprise market: Oracle and SAP.

The Commission is most of the way through its in-depth review of the proposed deal and must report back by 11 May. The US Department of Justice banned the deal last month but Oracle is appealing the decision. This case will be heard from 7 June in San Francisco.

The Department of Justice and the Commission are understood to be collaborating on the case. Both organisations are using very similar definitions of the market in their pursuit of Oracle.

It remains to be seen if US Congressmen will take a similar US versus Europe stance on this EC decision in the same way that they complained about the hefty EC judgement on Microsoft.