Oracle linked with Siebel and BEA bids

Siebel Systems and BEA Systems are on Oracle's wish list for potential acquisitions, according to a videotaped deposition of Oracle CEO Larry Ellison.

Those two companies were among the several named as potential acquisition targets for Oracle, during the third week of the Justice Department's antitrust trial against the software company and its proposed takeover of rival PeopleSoft. Other potential candidates included Lawson Software and J.D. Edwards.

Ellison said: "Tom Siebel came to my house and tried to sell me Siebel."

The Oracle boss added that he would put the company as his second choice if Oracle is unsuccessful in its bid for PeopleSoft.

"We think [PeopleSoft has] a good engineering team. They have got a large customer base, a larger and more important customer base than our second choice, which would be Siebel," said Ellison.

Industry watchers have repeatedly asked Oracle whether it would be interested in acquiring software maker BEA. Oracle has said that in addition to PeopleSoft - or perhaps as an alternative - it has considered acquiring companies in other markets, including BEA.

Talk of potential Oracle acquisition targets surfaced in videotaped depositions of Ellison and Jeff Henley, Oracle's chief financial officer, during the trial. Also during the trial, an Oracle document referenced in court included a list of potential acquisitions the company was toying with back in April last year.

The list, presented to Oracle's board during an April 2003 meeting, named these companies as potential acquisition targets: BEA Systems, Business Objects, Cerner, J.D. Edwards, Lawson Software, PeopleSoft, SCT Corp and Sybase.

During his deposition, Ellison confirmed that Safra Catz, Oracle co-president, had called J.D. Edwards about a possible acquisition prior to PeopleSoft's announcing its plans to acquire the mid-market player. But J.D. Edwards never returned Catz's call.

Dawn Kawamoto writes for News.com