9 Biggest Court Battles in Technology
7. Oracle quarrels with feds over PeopleSoft acquisition
In 2004, the feds filed a suit claiming that Oracle is trying to kill competition by acquiring PeopleSoft, the maker of customer relationship and business financial software. Mentioning it as violation of antitrust laws, The Department of Justice said that PeopleSoft acquisition would result in higher prices, less innovation and fewer choices for customers. Oracle characterized the government's suit as "without basis in fact or in law." Although PeopleSoft got some help from the US government, the US officials failed to prove their case in the federal court.
One of the Feds' main concerns was that Oracle would end up bidding only against SAP for human resources management and financial management services software deals.
In December the same year, Oracle announced the acquisition worth $10 billion. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison fired half of the company’s 11,000 employees a month after taking control.
