Oracleis planning to buy middleware
providerBEAin order to accelerate the
development of its own middleware products.
The database giant has sent a letter to the board of directors
of BEA Systems, proposing to acquire BEA for £8.36 per share in
cash.
BEA is one of the leading providers of service oriented
architecture middleware. The company's product lines include the
WebLogic Java application server, Tuxedo messaging platform and
Aqualogic web portal software. Businesses running BEA include BT,
Credit Suisse, BP and British Airways.
Oracle president, Charles Phillips, assured users of BEA and
Oracle products that the company would continue to invest in the
BEA product family should the acquisition go through. "We intend to
protect the investment customers have made in BEA's products by
supporting those customers and products for years to come."
Phillips said the acquisition of BEA would provide an increase
in engineering resources that would accelerate the development of
Oracle's own suite of middleware. "Both Oracle and BEA customers
will benefit from this increase in engineering investment as they
migrate to modern SOA technologies," Phillips said.