The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will not oppose the proposed acquisition of Peoplesoft Inc. by Oracle Corporation, ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, said today.
"Peoplesoft and Oracle are both significant players in the provision of complex enterprise application software for large organisations", Mr Samuel said. "The combined market share of Peoplesoft and Oracle will be quite high, particularly in the markets for complex-core financial and human resource management software.
"The ACCC took into consideration the existence of significant player SAP in Australia, and of several Australian-based firms, including Mincom and Technology One, that compete with Peoplesoft and Oracle in some industry sectors. The ACCC also recognised the global nature of the industry, and considered that firms such as Microsoft Business Solutions, Lawson and Intentia may potentially increase their Australian market shares in the future.
"The ACCC spoke with many purchasers of enterprise planning software, including many of Australia’s largest organisations. Although it was felt that the acquisition will result in a restriction of choice for some of these purchasers, the ACCC did not consider there was enough evidence to suggest that the acquisition was likely to substantially lessen competition in a market in breach of the Trade Practices Act".
"The ACCC took into consideration the views of foreign competition regulators in reaching its decision", Mr Samuel said. "The ACCC also noted the evidence put before the US District Court of Northern California in the antitrust lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice seeking to block the acquisition".