Excerpt from: Tech M&A Talk
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| January 16, 2008 | | Acquisition of BEA Systems Bodes Well for Strategic M&A in 2008 | The financial buyers have stepped back and the stock market has dropped 20% from its late-summer 52-week highs, giving way for Oracle (ORCL) to offer $19.375 cash per share for BEA Systems (BEAS), a 24% one-day premium. This is Oracle’s second approach to BEA; the first was on October 12, 2007 when Oracle offered $17/share and BEA countered with a $21/share proposal, which ORCL walked away from. Oracle President and Chief Financial Officer Safra Catz noted that “this deal (should) be accretive to Oracle's earnings by at least 1-2 cents on a non-GAAP basis in its first full year after closing." The activist investor Carl Icahn, who currently owns 13% of BEAS, said in a statement this morning, "This transaction is an excellent example of the great results that can be achieved for all constituencies when the shareholder activist is able to work cooperatively with management." An apparent win/win transaction for both parties bodes well for more strategic M&A to be navigated in 2008, in spite of choppy economic waters. | | |
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