Software giant Oracle has sealed a deal to buy rival PeopleSoft for $10.3 billion after a bitter 18-month battle.
'The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies and should close by early January,' Oracle said in a statement.
Combined, Oracle and PeopleSoft will be the world's second largest producer of business software, a sector still firmly dominated by Germany's SAP.
PeopleSoft's board rejected Oracle initial purchase offer in June 2003 as insufficient.
But on November 20, Oracle announced it had obtained control of more than 60% of PeopleSoft's shares. Again, PeopleSoft's board said the offer, then at $24 a share, was not enough. The offer of $26.50 is the best made by Oracle.
