IT Business
Ellison turns his back on BEA
But does anybody believe it is for real?
By Paul Krill, | Published 03:24, 16 November 07
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison has claimed that the company is no longer interested in buying BEA Systems, at least not for as much as it offered last month.
Speaking during a meeting with analysts, Ellison said Oracle wanted to buy BEA for its sales force and to scale up; Oracle has been replacing BEA in some customer sites, Ellison said. BEA's technology had nothing to do with the effort, he said.
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But Oracle has gone cold on its pursuit of the company.
"It seems very unlikely that anyone's going to buy BEA right now," Ellison said. Oracle in October offered $17 per share for the company, bringing the total price tag to about $6.7 billion. BEA countered with a $21 per share price; Oracle declined and the offer expired on October 28.
Ellison said "the $17 price seems too high right now," he said. "At $17 a share, it was a highly accretive transaction," said Ellison.
"If we made another offer, the price would be lower," Ellison said.
"If their goal was to stay independent, I think they're doing a good job," Ellison said. BEA has gone from one potential buyer to none and has taken some actions to make the company not worth acquiring, according to Ellison.
"It looks like no one's going to buy BEA," Ellison said.
