Oracle and PeopleSoft sign agreement

Oracle has signed a definitive merger agreement to acquire PeopleSoft for about US$10.3 billion.

Oracle yesterday said it would pay US$26.50 per share under the definitive merger agreement, according to the company.

Larry Ellison, CEO at Oracle, said the merger would give Oracle greater scale and momentum.

"This merger works because we will have more customers, which increases our ability to invest more in applications development and support. We intend to enhance PeopleSoft 8 and develop a PeopleSoft 9 and enhance a JD Edwards 5 and develop a JD Edwards 6," Ellison said. "We intend to immediately extend and improve support for existing JD Edwards and PeopleSoft customers worldwide."

The Boards of directors of both companies have approved the transaction, which is expected to close by early January, according to a statement from Oracle.