Oracle's bid for BEA expires

Oracle warns BEA Systems board not to presume a renewal of its $17 per share offer

Oracle’s bid to acquire middleware developer BEA Systems has expired with the passing of the 28 October deadline.

Earlier this month, Oracle had offered to acquire BEA for $17 a share, valuing the company at $6.7bn. This offer was repeatedly rejected by the BEA board, who refused to meet with Oracle and did not put the proposal to its shareholders.

In a letter to Oracle on 26 October, BEA said, “Our board cannot endorse a proposal that it has concluded significantly undervalues BEA.” BEA put forward a counter-proposal of $21 a share, which was rejected by Oracle.

On the passing of the deadline, Oracle warned that BEA shareholders should not assume that the database giant will renew its $17 share offer in the future. “Over time many things can change: BEA's business might materially weaken, the stock market can fall further from its recent record highs, or Oracle may have committed its capital elsewhere,” Oracle said.