Brussels, 18/11/2003 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has started a detailed investigation into the proposed acquisition of US business software company PeopleSoft Inc by Oracle Corp. The deal to bring the two major company software companies together is worth USD 7.3 bn. Oracle, traditionally known for its relational database management system software Oracle's business applications software competes with PeopleSoft and SAP of Germany in the Enterprise Application Software market. The Commission investigation will, in particular, investigate the impact of the transaction on the markets insofar as competition falling from three to two major players, namely Oracle and SAP, on certain software application markets. The Commission will also have more time to examine the potential effects in the relational database market, where Oracle has a particularly strong presence. The European Commission and the antitrust division of the US Department of Justice are co-operating in this case, which requires regulatory approval in both sides of the Atlantic.