Oracle Drops $6.7B Offer for BEA Buyout

Software giant says renewal not impossible, but highly unlikely

By Zach Samalin, Newser Staff

Posted Oct 28, 2007 11:51 PM CDT

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Oracle Drops $6.7B Offer for BEA Buyout — An exterior view of Oracle headquarters is seen in Redwood City, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 19, 2007. Oracle Corp. is expected to release quarterly earnings on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2007. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma) (Associated Press)

Software mogul Oracle made good today on its threat to drop a $6.7 billion offer to buy BEA systems, after the latter failed to meet the October 28 deadline. Oracle said BEA shareholders should "not assume" it will renew the offer, though it did not rule out the possibility, either, if shareholders were to force the company's hand, the Financial Times writes.

“If the BEA shareholders are unhappy with the behaviour of the board, it is up to those shareholders, not Oracle, to take the appropriate action,” Oracle wrote. Major BEA shareholder Carl Icahn indicated he will be taking legal action to prevent the company from avoiding a takeover. Oracle also urged Icahn to launch a proxy battle against BEA. (More Oracle stories.)

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