EU watchdog clears Oracle-Siebel Systems merger

0 Comments | AFP, December, 2005

BRUSSELS (AFP) — The European Union's competition watchdog approved on the buyout of Siebel Systems by business software giant Oracle, removing the last legal obstacle to their merger.

The European Commission said it had studied the operation and found no reason to conclude that the 5.85-billion-dollar (4.95-billion-euro) merger would impede "effective competition" in Europe or any susbstantial part of it.

The two companies said last month that they had received the green light from the US Department of Justice for their alliance, a bid by Oracle to gain an edge in its rivalry with Germany's SAP.

The deal would give Oracle, the world's second-largest software group after Microsoft but behind SAP in business management applications, a strong base in an area...