keywords: antitrust takeover oracle peoplesoft firms
text: Antitrust Ruling Reverberates Oracle Corp. was not the only beneficiary of a federal judge's ruling late Thursday that it could proceed with its \$7.7 billion hostile takeover bid for software rival PeopleSoft Inc. Yesterday, the stock prices of numerous software firms surged during widespread speculation that the antitrust ruling could spark a wave of consolidation in the industry.