Oracle's Bid For PeopleSoft Drags On

At the same time, Oracle continues to face scrutiny by U.S. and European antitrust regulatory agencies, whose investigations are threatening to extend the process for months.

Oracle's slate of four or five candidates is expected to be submitted by next week in order to comply with PeopleSoft bylaws. Directors will be elected later in the year. While four positions on PeopleSoft's eight-member board are up for election, Oracle could seek to expand the board to nine members in a move to gain control.

In another development, the Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. Justice Department antitrust attorneys are leaning against approving Oracle's hostile $7.3 billion takeover attempt. Similar reports have been circulating for months. In Brussels, the European Union is also examining Oracle's takeover attempt. The European regulators are said to be looking intensely at the European software market and the impact that a merged Oracle-PeopleSoft company would have on Germany's SAP.

*This story courtesy of Techweb.com.