PLEASANTON, CA: PeopleSoft's acquisition of JD Edwards has led to most of the latter company's in-house PR team joining PeopleSoft.
However, Victor Chayet, JD Edwards' director of corporate communications, will not join PeopleSoft. Chayet did not want to move from Denver, JD Edwards' location, to Pleasanton, CA, where PeopleSoft is headquartered, said DeeAnna McPherson, PeopleSoft's director of global PR. For a short period, Chayet will consult with PeopleSoft to make sure the merger of both PR teams goes smoothly.
While PeopleSoft has announced layoffs due to the acquisition, McPherson said her team would not be affected. Most of the JD Edwards PR staff that did not join PeopleSoft did not want to move to the Bay Area, said McPherson.
PeopleSoft has also decided to stick with Porter Novelli, its AOR. The company did not conduct an agency review, but was faced with both Porter Novelli, and Fleishman-Hillard, JD Edwards' global AOR.
Bob Hallman, SVP and co-chairman of Fleishman's tech practice, said the agency anticipated that with the acquisition, the firm might not retain any of the PR business. Fleishman has been redeploying its tech staff to other clients since PeopleSoft announced in June its intent to acquire JD Edwards, and thus does not anticipate any layoffs.
PeopleSoft has also been fending off a hostile takeover bid by Oracle, which recently extended its bid until December 31. It had retained financial crisis firm Joele Frank, Wilkinson Brimmer Katcher for that effort.
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