US antitrust regulators had sought to block the bid, claiming it would hinder competition, but US District Judge Vaughn Walker rejected the government's arguments on September 9.

"While we disagree with the district court's disappointing decision, we respect the role of the courts in the United States merger review process," said R. Hewitt Pate, head of the Justice Department's antitrust division.

"Similarly, while we disagree with some of the legal observations in the district court's opinion, the ultimate outcome rested on detailed factual findings that would appropriately receive great deference in the appellate process."

The Justice Department had argued that Oracle, PeopleSoft and Germany's SAP are the only companies that develop and sell the high-end integrated human resource and financial management software used by big companies and government agencies.

Oracle bucked convention and court odds in defending itself against the suit. Typically corporations give up on takeover efforts if Justice Department lawyers deem they would be anti-competitive.

The decision came the same day that PeopleSoft's board of directors fired cheif executive Craig Conway, who had led the resistance to the Oracle offer.

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