New York - The Silicon Valley dogfight between Oracle and PeopleSoft took a new turn on Friday as PeopleSoft dumped the chief executive leading its takeover defence and US regulators dropped their antitrust case.
PeopleSoft said it was terminating the contract of president and chief executive Craig Conway, who has led the fight against a $7.7 billion (R49 billion) hostile takeover bid by Oracle.
The company's board voted to appoint Dave Duffield, the founder and chairman of the software company, as chief executive, and announced the appointment of two co-presidents.
"The board said its decision resulted from a loss of confidence in Conway's ability to continue to lead the company," PeopleSoft said.
The head of the justice department's antitrust division, R Hewitt Pate, said the government would not appeal against a court decision allowing Oracle to pursue its takeover bid.
US antitrust regulators had sought to block the bid, saying it would hinder competition, but a judge rejected the government's arguments on September 9.