There’s a mammoth PR struggle currently taking place at the top of the enterprise software tree.
Back on June 2, Peoplesoft announced its intention to buy fellow enterprise software company J.D. Edwards for $1.7 billion.
Then out of the blue, a couple of days later, Oracle launched a hostile $5.1 billion bid to buy Peoplesoft – and stated that the acquistion of J.D. Edwards would be on ice, until it was examined post-merger.
To add some additional spice to the bid, Peoplesoft CEO Craig Conway is a former protegee of Oracle CEO, Larry Ellison.
Now J.D. Edwards is suing Oracle for $1.7 billion for interfering with the original takeover.
And the 800-pound gorilla in the enteprise software applications market, SAP, is looking to take advantage of what’s going on.
Fantastic entertainment from the outside. But can you imagine the stress their PR departments are under? There are some late nights being put in there.
Background reading:
- Peoplesoft’s Press Room
- J.D. Edwards’ Press Room
- Oracle’s press room
- And our friends over at Corporate Babble have highlighted SAP’s opportune intervention.
Murphy's Law 