Oracle to buy BEA Systems

Pouncing on an opportunity to add another weapon in an increasingly bitter business software battle, Oracle Co-rp. has offered to buy struggling rival BEA Systems Inc. for $6.7 billion in its latest shot aimed at another industry leader, SAP AG. Oracle unveiled its $17-per-share cash offer on Friday, less than a month after activist investor Carl Icahn annou-nced he had bought a large stake in BEA in hopes of forcing a sale of the software maker. The billionaire now owns a 13.2 per cent stake in BEA, giving Oracle a potentially pivotal ally in its latest effort to acquire the maker of so-called middleware — computer coding for Internet.