Judge Says PeopleSoft Addresses Concerns

The judge who must decide whether PeopleSoft Inc.’s corporate takeover defenses will stand up against a hostile takeover attempt by Oracle Corp. said the latest revision of a key defense was “a lot closer” to meeting concerns raised about it in court.

Vice Chancellor Leo Strine of Delaware’s Court of Chancery said PeopleSoft was clearly attempting to tailor a special customer protection program to pass muster in the case when it rewrote the program Monday. He urged the two sides to meet and confer on the customer program, which Oracle had challenged in court.