PeopleSoft CEO robbed of chance to slam Oracle

Oracle, in a surprise move, has announced that it would forgo calling PeopleSoft CEO Craig Conway to the witness stand in the ongoing federal antitrust trial.

That decision comes as the Justice Department and Oracle enter the fourth and final week of their high-profile case. Federal regulators seek to block the software maker's hostile bid for PeopleSoft, which it says would stifle competition in the market for large-scale business applications. Oracle had earlier anticipated calling Conway as a witness for a gruelling six hours, compared with the hour typical of other witnesses.

Oracle attorney Dan Wall said: "We found it wasn't needed to call him, because of the testimony from other PeopleSoft executives, Rick Bergquist and Phillip Wilmington, and various internal documents."

PeopleSoft said it regretted the lost opportunity.

A company spokesman said: "It's unfortunate Craig wasn't given a chance to take the stand. He would have talked about how this merger would damage our customers and how it's damaged our business."

Dawn Kawamoto writes for News.com