REDWOOD CITY - Oracle Corp.'s flamboyant chief executive officer Larry Ellison pledged in colorful language Wednesday to buy rival PeopleSoft Inc. even if he has to wait until next summer.

Ellison also predicted that if Oracle does not succeed in taking over PeopleSoft, the Pleasanton-based software maker is not large or strong enough to withstand Darwinian consolidation sweeping the software industry.

"With or without us, PeopleSoft can't survive," Ellison said. "They can't compete in this business in the long term."

Speaking in his usual bombastic style to an annual gathering of financial analysts Wednesday, Ellison pejoratively dismissed PeopleSoft chief executive officer Craig Conway as "Craigy" and escalated an already nasty war of words with PeopleSoft. Ellison, in full warrior mode, borrowed military parlance in responding to a comment Conway made in the early days of Oracle's hostile takeover bid: "If I said to you, 'I'll give you $10 for your dog and then I'll shoot it,' what would you do? Would it make any difference if I offered you $20?"

"I think Craigy thought at one point that I was going to shoot his dog. I love animals," Ellison said. "If Craigy and (Craig's dog) were standing next to each other, and I only had one bullet, trust me, it wouldn't be for the dog."

PeopleSoft spokesman Steve Swasey took offense at Ellison's comment. "For those of us who work with (Conway) and know him closely, it's a lot disconcerting," Swasey said. "We are concerned about what he said and the implications."

Swasey would not confirm if Conway owns a dog.

Swasey also took issue with Ellison's dire predictions for PeopleSoft's future, saying PeopleSoft is a "tough and viable competitor."

The uberconfident Ellison strode onstage Wednesday to field questions from analysts eager to glean more details about Oracle's strategy to take over PeopleSoft and told them he was willing to discuss "whatever you want to talk about."

Ellison echoed other Oracle executives, saying Oracle is in full acquisition mode, ready to look at a variety of possible deals. "We would be interested in buying almost anything, your house if the price is right." The software industry, Ellison said, is "sorely in need of consolidation."

Ellison also forcefully reiterated his case for the PeopleSoft deal, which would be the biggest acquisition in the company's history. He said that his campaign would continue even if he needed to wage a fight to elect new members to PeopleSoft's board, a process that could push the battle into next summer.

But he and his lieutenants offered few new insights into their plans for PeopleSoft. They also downplayed the significance of the takeover to Oracle's future, saying it was not a "make or break" deal.

That left some analysts to speculate Ellison's fervor to buy PeopleSoft may have waned.

"The company emphasized that it was not a 'make or break' deal, setting the stage that as investors, we should not be disappointed if the deal does not go through," said Friedman Billings Ramsey & Co. Inc. analyst David Hilal. "They're trying to condition Wall Street ... because at this point a lot of this is out of their hands."

The Department of Justice is expected to determine Monday if the J.D. Edwards & Co. and PeopleSoft merger passes antitrust muster or if it will launch a more thorough investigation. If antitrust regulators give the merger the green light, PeopleSoft could close the transaction before the end of the month, forcing Oracle to either swallow both companies or walk away. The Justice Department is already in the process of reviewing Oracle's deal with PeopleSoft, which could take weeks or months.

As the deadline nears for PeopleSoft to complete its merger with smaller software rival J.D. Edwards, Ellison did not rule out the possibility of buying both companies. "Maybe the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 players should combine to give (SAP) a run for their money," Ellison said.

Speaking after the conference, Oracle executive vice president Chuck Phillips said such a move would require Oracle to amend its application to the Department of Justice. The European Union also has begun an antitrust review, Phillips said.

Phillips also refused to say whether Oracle would raise its $19.50-a-share offer for PeopleSoft. Oracle executive vice president Safra Catz said Oracle can afford to buy both PeopleSoft and J.D. Edwards.

"We have a number of options," Catz said. "We haven't focused on that. We are focused on getting PeopleSoft."