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October 27, 2010, 10:08 AM EDT
By Jeran Wittenstein
(Updates with today?s share trading in 14th paragraph.)
Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Oracle Corp. Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison said his company plans to produce evidence that Hewlett-Packard Co.?s incoming CEO was involved in an effort to steal Oracle software while at former employer SAP AG.
?A few weeks ago I accused HP?s new CEO, Leo Apotheker, of overseeing an industrial espionage scheme centering on the repeated theft of massive amounts of Oracle?s software,? Ellison said in a statement yesterday. Oracle intends to present evidence at a trial that starts Nov. 1, Ellison said.
HP said in response that Oracle is attempting to harass its new CEO, who had limited knowledge of the case. SAP, which is fighting the amount of damages Oracle is seeking in a 2007 lawsuit, said today that Ellison is using the trial as part of his personal crusade against HP. Ellison hired former HP CEO Mark Hurd as a president last month and chided HP?s board for how it handled Hurd?s departure.
?Oracle had ample opportunity to question Leo during his sworn deposition in October 2008 and chose not to include him as a trial witness until he was named CEO of HP,? HP said in a statement.
?Given Leo?s limited knowledge of and role in the matter, Oracle?s last-minute effort to require him to appear live at trial is no more than an effort to harass him and interfere with his duties and responsibilities as HP?s CEO,? HP said.
Damages Sought
Apotheker is scheduled to begin as HP CEO the same day as court proceedings get under way to determine damages in the case involving TomorrowNow, the now defunct SAP subsidiary accused of stealing codes and documents to help it win Oracle customers. Oracle has said it may seek as much as $1 billion in damages.
SAP asked the Northern District Court of California Oct. 22 to prevent people involved in the case from talking to the media, saying it could influence jurors.
?This is more evidence of Oracle?s true motivation to use the trial as part of Ellison?s personal crusade against HP,? Christoph Liedtke, a spokesman at SAP, said in a telephone interview today. ?SAP remains focused on the core issue of determining reasonable levels of compensation in this case for Oracle.
Ellison said in his statement that a major portion of the theft occurred while Apotheker was CEO of SAP and HP Chairman Ray Lane may try to keep him from testifying in the trial.
?If HP keeps Leo Apotheker far from HP headquarters we cannot subpoena him to testify at that trial,? Ellison wrote.
Oracle spokeswoman Deborah Hellinger didn?t respond to a voice mail seeking comment beyond the statement.
TomorrowNow Trial
Lane, a managing partner at venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, starts as HP?s non-executive chairman the same day. The appointments were announced Sept. 30.
Lane said earlier this month that TomorrowNow wasn?t under Apotheker?s direct supervision and that Oracle is trying to draw him into its lawsuit.
Oracle rose 17 cents to $28.80 at 10:02 a.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares had gained 17 percent this year before today. HP, down 17 percent this year, fell 26 cents to $42.69.
Apotheker resigned as CEO of German software maker SAP in February after the company didn?t extend his contract. He oversaw SAP?s first revenue decline since 2003.
Hurd resigned as HP?s chairman and CEO following a company investigation that determined he violated its standards of business conduct. An investigation of sexual harassment allegations found inaccurate expense reports filed by Hurd or on his behalf that concealed a personal relationship with the event organizer and marketing contractor Jodie Fisher.
--With assistance from Edmond Lococo in Beijing. Editors: Tom Giles, Young-Sam Cho, Douglas Wong
To contact the reporter on this story: Jeran Wittenstein at jwittenstei1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net.
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(Updates with today?s share trading in 14th paragraph.)
Oct. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Oracle Corp. Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison said his company plans to produce evidence that Hewlett-Packard Co.?s incoming CEO was involved in an effort to steal Oracle software while at former employer SAP AG.
?A few weeks ago I accused HP?s new CEO, Leo Apotheker, of overseeing an industrial espionage scheme centering on the repeated theft of massive amounts of Oracle?s software,? Ellison said in a statement yesterday. Oracle intends to present evidence at a trial that starts Nov. 1, Ellison said.
HP said in response that Oracle is attempting to harass its new CEO, who had limited knowledge of the case. SAP, which is fighting the amount of damages Oracle is seeking in a 2007 lawsuit, said today that Ellison is using the trial as part of his personal crusade against HP. Ellison hired former HP CEO Mark Hurd as a president last month and chided HP?s board for how it handled Hurd?s departure.
?Oracle had ample opportunity to question Leo during his sworn deposition in October 2008 and chose not to include him as a trial witness until he was named CEO of HP,? HP said in a statement.
?Given Leo?s limited knowledge of and role in the matter, Oracle?s last-minute effort to require him to appear live at trial is no more than an effort to harass him and interfere with his duties and responsibilities as HP?s CEO,? HP said.
Damages Sought
Apotheker is scheduled to begin as HP CEO the same day as court proceedings get under way to determine damages in the case involving TomorrowNow, the now defunct SAP subsidiary accused of stealing codes and documents to help it win Oracle customers. Oracle has said it may seek as much as $1 billion in damages.
SAP asked the Northern District Court of California Oct. 22 to prevent people involved in the case from talking to the media, saying it could influence jurors.
?This is more evidence of Oracle?s true motivation to use the trial as part of Ellison?s personal crusade against HP,? Christoph Liedtke, a spokesman at SAP, said in a telephone interview today. ?SAP remains focused on the core issue of determining reasonable levels of compensation in this case for Oracle.
Ellison said in his statement that a major portion of the theft occurred while Apotheker was CEO of SAP and HP Chairman Ray Lane may try to keep him from testifying in the trial.
?If HP keeps Leo Apotheker far from HP headquarters we cannot subpoena him to testify at that trial,? Ellison wrote.
Oracle spokeswoman Deborah Hellinger didn?t respond to a voice mail seeking comment beyond the statement.
TomorrowNow Trial
Lane, a managing partner at venture-capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, starts as HP?s non-executive chairman the same day. The appointments were announced Sept. 30.
Lane said earlier this month that TomorrowNow wasn?t under Apotheker?s direct supervision and that Oracle is trying to draw him into its lawsuit.
Oracle rose 17 cents to $28.80 at 10:02 a.m. New York time in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. The shares had gained 17 percent this year before today. HP, down 17 percent this year, fell 26 cents to $42.69.
Apotheker resigned as CEO of German software maker SAP in February after the company didn?t extend his contract. He oversaw SAP?s first revenue decline since 2003.
Hurd resigned as HP?s chairman and CEO following a company investigation that determined he violated its standards of business conduct. An investigation of sexual harassment allegations found inaccurate expense reports filed by Hurd or on his behalf that concealed a personal relationship with the event organizer and marketing contractor Jodie Fisher.
--With assistance from Edmond Lococo in Beijing. Editors: Tom Giles, Young-Sam Cho, Douglas Wong
To contact the reporter on this story: Jeran Wittenstein at jwittenstei1@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net.
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