US firm vows to defend home market leadership against giant German rival
Fresh from its takeover battle for rival PeopleSoft, Oracle is locked in a tug-of-war against German software giant SAP to acquire Retek, a Minnesota-based retail software applications supplier.
Oracle yesterday offered to buy Retek for US$504 million in cash, or US$9 a share, to trump SAP's earlier offer of US$496 million, or US$8.50 a share.
On Monday and Tuesday this week, Oracle bought 5.5 million shares of Retek common stock, or almost 10 per cent of the outstanding shares.
The unsolicited bid from Oracle came eight days after Retek's board signed a merger agreement with SAP and endorsed it to Retek shareholders.
The offer has also upset SAP's plan to build its applications business in the fast-growing retail sector and rattle Oracle on its home turf.