andy1307 writes to tell us that according to the Mercury News, Oracle has made an unsolicited bid to buy BEA Systems for about $6.7 billion. BEA confirmed that it rejected the $17 a share bid as too low. "BEA told Phillips that its board of directors believes BEA 'is worth substantially more to Oracle, to others and, importantly, to our shareholders than the price indicated in your letter.' Oracle's aggressive bid may be an attempt to pre-empt an acquisition by others, Finley said. Those named in the past as potential suitors include IBM, the German software company SAP AG and Hewlett-Packard. Trip Chowdhry of Global Equity Research said he expects a counterbid from SAP, which he said needs BEA to survive. 'If they don't get BEA, probably in two years SAP will be on the block to sell itself,' Chowdhry predicted. Oracle needs to keep BEA out of competitors' hands, he said. Chowdhry said the offer currently 'is not right. Probably at $21 the deal will get done.'"

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