Conn. sues to block merger

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Thursday, June 19, 2003 | 9:50 a.m.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, plunging into another high-tech business dispute, is suing Oracle Corp., the Silicon Valley database software giant, in an effort to block Oracle's hostile takeover bid for its smaller rival, PeopleSoft Inc.

The Connecticut move came only hours after Oracle sweetened its bid for PeopleSoft by about 22 percent. Oracle, based in Redwood Shores, Calif., said it would offer shareholders $19.50 for each outstanding PeopleSoft share, boosting the value of the deal to about $6.3 billion. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison first offered $16 a share, or about $5.1 billion, on June 6.