Trial Gets Underway To Test Oracle's Bid For PeopleSoft

The case centers on Oracle's hostile attempt to acquire rival PeopleSoft Inc. for $7.7 billion. Begun more than a year ago, the hostile bid has been working its way through regulatory agencies and courts with the current trial in Federal District Court scheduled to review the Justice Department's decision earlier this spring to block the Oracle bid. The trial is expected to take about one month before Judge Vaughn Walker.

Definition of the relevant market is at the heart of the case, with Oracle arguing there are many software firms competing with each other in a broad market, while the Justice Department maintains the market is narrowly focused with competitors limited to Oracle, PeopleSoft, and Germany's SAP AG.