Flash: Court refuses to block Oracle takeover of PeopleSoft

This news hit the wire just a few minutes ago. U.S. Judge Vaughn Walker has ruled that the Department of Justice (DoJ) has failed to prove its antitrust case against Oracle. He therefore declined to issue an injunction to block Oracle's takeover bid for PeopleSoft.

The court's ruling does not mean the deal goes through, however. There are several reasons:

1. DoJ may appeal the ruling. There's no indication yet if DoJ will do so, however.



2. The European Commission has opened its own review of the takeover bid, which presents another obstacle to Oracle.



3. PeopleSoft has sued Oracle in California state court seeking damages from Oracle for hurting its business.



4. Oracle still needs to overcome PeopleSoft's poison pill provisions.

Nevertheless, this is a huge step forward for Oracle's ambitions.

In after market trading today, PeopleSoft is up 15% on the news. I should have bought some PeopleSoft stock earlier this week, when I pointed out that PeopleSoft shares would probably rise no matter how the court ruled.

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