Dave Duffield, the founder and new CEO of PeopleSoft, issued a memo to employees this week dispelling any rumors that he has returned to broker a deal with Oracle CEO Larry Ellison in one of the more memorable hostile takeover bids in recent history, Internetnews.com reports.
“I didn’t come back here to sell to Oracle,” Duffield said in a memo Internetnews.com obtained. “Rather, I’m here to beat Oracle in the marketplace, increase our revenues, re-energize our employees, and deliver greater long-term value to our shareholders.”
Duffield continued that the key to preventing a sale to Oracle from happening is to show some good sales numbers of its own as the company ramps up its year-end accounts. The task, Duffield said, can be done with improved products, new offerings, and “outrageous” customer service. Duffield also pointed to a soon-to-be announced, five-year vision he believes will keep the company separate from Oracle.
Internetnews.com | PeopleSoft: “We’re not for sale”
To see what some people who sell, implement and support PeopleSoft products think, see comments in PeopleSoftPros Blogs.
For some different but related perspectives, also see my previous posts about PeopleSoft and Oracle: