Oracle to acquire BEA for US$8.5bn

Throughout the incredible journey of the telecom OSS/BSS sector over the last 10 years, VanillaPlus has remained a reliable source of both key news but also informative, objective and thought-provoking assessments of the key trends which have shaped our industry. I am looking forward to VanillaPlus and their more recent Stream journal continuing to play a key role in providing valuable insights as we enter one of the most exciting phases of the telecoms OSS/BSS market evolutions.

Kieran Moynihan
Vice President & CTO Telecoms
IBM Tivoli Division

2008-02-06 12:52:04

Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ: ORCL) and BEA Systems (NASDAQ: BEAS) have agreed that Oracle will acquire all outstanding shares of BEA for US$19.375 per share in cash. The offer is valued at approximately $8.5 billion, or $7.2 billion net of BEA’s cash on hand of $1.3 billion. Oracle was already the world's largest enterprise software company.

As we reported in the January issue of our html newsletter, VanillaPlus Bites (see below for details of FREE Subcriptions), Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said: "The addition of BEA products and technology will significantly enhance and extend Oracle’s Fusion middleware software suite. (It) has an open 'hot-pluggable' architecture that allows customers the option of coupling BEA’s WebLogic Java Server to virtually all the components of the Fusion software suite. That’s just one example of how customers can choose among Oracle and BEA middleware products, knowing that those products will gracefully interoperate and be supported for years to come.”

Alfred Chuang, BEA’s chairman and CEO, added: “Over the past several months our Board of Directors, with the assistance of independent financial and legal advisors, has reviewed various ways to maximise stockholder value, including engaging in discussions with third parties about a possible sale of the company.” Said Chuang: “This transaction is the culmination of that diligent and thoughtful process, and we believe it is in the best interests of our shareholders. I am confident our innovative products, talented employees and worldwide customer base will be key contributors to the success of the combined company over the long term. We look forward to working with Oracle toward a successful completion of the transaction.”

“BEA is a pioneer in middleware, and this combination recognises the innovation and customer success the company has achieved. Our joint customers have consistently suggested this deal for more than three years,” said Oracle president Charles Phillips. “This transaction will accelerate the adoption of Java-based middleware technologies and SOA; advance innovation in enterprise applications infrastructure software; extend our strategic relationships with customers and partners; and increase our penetration in key regions like China.”

The Board of Directors of BEA Systems has unanimously approved the transaction. It is anticipated to close by mid-2008, subject to BEA stockholder approval, certain regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.

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