Analysts have been predicting a shakeout in the supply chain software industry for several years now. Last month, that day finally arrived—with a bang—as three supply chain software providers announced that they would be sold.

In the space of just a few weeks, PeopleSoft said it would buy J.D. Edwards & Co.; two venture capital firms bought Baan; and value-added network provider Global eXchange Services bought Celarix. Looming over all was the prospect of an even bigger deal, as software giant Oracle launched a hostile bid for PeopleSoft.

That there were acquisitions came as no surprise. But the fact that J.D. Edwards and PeopleSoft were involved caught some observers off guard, since both of them were doing well.

PeopleSoft of Pleasanton, Calif., said it would purchase J.D. Edwards for $1.75 billion, with nearly half of that to be paid in cash to avoid a shareholder vote. J.D. Edwards will become a wholly owned subsidiary of PeopleSoft, and the Denver-based company's stockholders will own about 25 percent of PeopleSoft's shares. The combined companies will have revenues of $2.8 billion and employ some 13,000 workers.

PeopleSoft offers human resources, financial, and customer-relationship management applications. The software vendor's acquisition of its smaller competitor should support its recent drive into the supply chain arena. Although generally characterized as an ERP vendor, J.D. Edwards was well known for its manufacturing and logistics applications.

Shortly after that sale was announced, Oracle Corp. of Redwood City, Calif., made an unsolicited $5.1 billion cash offer for PeopleSoft. PeopleSoft's board of directors rejected that bid on the grounds that the proposed merger would not pass antitrust scrutiny. At press time, it was unclear whether Oracle would press ahead with a hostile takeover.

The other big deal involved the sale of Dutch software vendor Baan just three years after it had been acquired by Invensys, the United Kingdom-based maker of automation equipment. Baan provides manufacturing applications as well as logistics and transportation solutions.

Invensys sold Baan to an investment group consisting of Cerberus Capital Management and General Atlantic Partners. The investors plan to combine Baan with another ERP vendor it owns, SSA Global Technologies. SSA provides solutions for process-manufacturing, discrete-manufacturing, consumer, and services companies worldwide.

Finally, Global eXchange Services (GXS) bought Celarix Inc. for an undisclosed price. GXS, based in Gaithersburg, Md., facilitates electronic commerce by translating data for trading partners. Celarix of Cambridge, Mass., began as an online marketplace for ocean transportation but now provides collaboration and event-management solutions for transportation. GXS said it would use Celarix's tools to connect trading partners so they could exchange information and track goods in real time.