Acquisitions

In the business world, relations and hierarchies are never meant to last forever. Big fish eat the little fish, and it takes great skill to know when you should sell your company if running it becomes too difficult. This is the case in the software business as well, where "middleware" company BEA is up for sale and it's been getting offers from database giant Oracle. For now, Oracle's offering $17 per share and BEA's been refusing to sell, but as analysts think it could get up to 3 more dollars per share, maybe waiting isn't such a bad choice after all. Other companies interested in the bid were initially IBM and SAP but the latter has recently announced it has lost interest and would not even be able to accomplish the purchase financially, having had announced its intention to buy Business Objects SA for $6.8 billion. For IBM, it could be a matter of pride to buy a company more oriented to the Web 2.0 and also get something right from under Oracle's nose. IBM and Oracle are long-time rivals in the database market and a battle between the two would prove the best especially for BEA. Prices on its stock have already begun to rise as investors expect a massive price from its buyer, but it's likely they will have to wait a while before it gives in. Oracle is patient though, and known for getting what it wants; the 2004 story of the PeopleSoft purchase speaks volumes about its determination.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071012/ap_on_bi_ge/oracle_bea_systems;_ylt=At4akafZBAosZbIz.q0Hezes0NUE

by Corina Ciubotaru for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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