BEA To Be Acquired By Oracle

BEA To Be Acquired By Oracle

By Reuters
8:17 AM EST Wed. Jan. 16, 2008
(Adds analyst comment, BEA share move)

BOSTON – Business software maker BEA Systems Inc has agreed to be acquired by Oracle Corp for $8.5 billion, a 14 percent premium to its first offer, the companies said Wednesday.

Oracle (NSDQ:ORCL) will pay $19.375 per share for BEA, higher than the $17 per share it offered in October but lower than the $21 per share BEA had previously demanded.

“It’s a fair price. It’s a good deal for Oracle. It’s a good deal for BEA,” said Trip Chowdhry, analyst at Global Equities Research.

BEA shares rose 19 percent to $18.50 in pre-market trading compared to the Tuesday close on Nasdaq of $15.58. Oracle shares ticked lower, to $21.01 in pre-market trading from their close of $21.31.

BEA makes so-called middleware, which helps business computer systems interact with each other.

Oracle said the deal, valued at $7.2 billion net of cash on hand of $1.3 billion, would increase its adjusted earnings per share by at least 1 cent to 2 cents in the first full year after closing. (Reporting by Jim Finkle and Tiffany Wu; editing by Mark Porter/John Wallace)