Oracle's bid for BEA collapses

Oracle's attempt to buy BEA has faltered

Oracle said it may not renew its offer to buy BEA Systems, following a breakdown in negotiations between the two companies.

The deadline for the original deal, which proposed a purchase price for BEA of $17 (£8) per share, expired at 5.00pm on Sunday. Last week BEA said it would accept a proposal at $21 (£10), a figure that was rejected by Oracle as "impossibly high".

In a statement released yesterday, Oracle criticised the way its rival had responded to the acquisition bid.

"Over the last 20 days the BEA board has repeatedly rejected our offer and refused to meet with us, even though we offered to meet without any preconditions," said Oracle.

"We asked the BEA board to allow their shareholders to vote on our $17-per-share proposal. They chose not to.

"If the BEA shareholders are unhappy with the behavior of the BEA board it is up to those shareholders, not Oracle, to take the appropriate action."

BEA's vice president, William Klein, previously attacked the Oracle bid for being too low.

Despite the apparent fallout between the two organisation, a future deal is still likely, said Ovum analyst David Mitchell.

"This is a game of high stakes poker," said Mitchell.

"The withdrawal of the $17-per-share bid is the next card in the hand. By playing it Oracle is hoping that the pressure on the BEA board will continue to ratchet upwards, and improve the chances of a transaction being concluded at a price that is acceptable to both parties," he said.

"In essence, it now hopes that someone else will play the next card in the games."