PeopleSoft to Buy Vantive

In a stock-for-stock transaction, PeopleSoft Inc. plans to buy The Vantive Corp., a move that will enhance PeopleSoft’s ability to offer comprehensive e-business solutions and robust applications.Building on several product integrations completed during a long-term partnership, PeopleSoft will fully integrate Vantive’s customer-focused solutions into PeopleSoft’s broad offering of e-business applications, combining customer information, transactional data, and business intelligence for a more complete customer life cycle view.“PeopleSoft needed a partner that has embraced the Internet as the next forum for global business, cares deeply about its customers’ successes, and has a world-class customer relationship management product line. We got all of that and more with Vantive …” says Craig Conway, PeopleSoft president and CEO. The merger is structured as a tax-free exchange of stock at a fixed ratio of .825 shares of PeopleSoft common stock for each outstanding share, warrant, and option of Vantive, and is anticipated to be accounted for as a pooling of interests. Based on PeopleSoft’s closing stock price of $17.25 per share on October 8, 1999, the transaction’s value is approximately $433 million. Already approved by each company’s board, the transaction is subject to approval by Vantive’s shareholders and compliance with applicable regulatory requirements. Company officials anticipate a first-quarter 2000 closing.