BEA Systems

BEA Systems knows that if one is provided the right platform, success is simply a matter of applying oneself. The company is a leading provider of application server software and middleware used by software developers to establish platforms (which span mainframe, client-server, and Web-based environments) upon which software applications run. Its products support functions such as transaction processing, billing, customer service, provisioning, and securities trading. In late 2007 the company received a $6.7 billion acquisition offer from Oracle; BEA rejected that bid but accepted a second offer of $8.5 billion and the deal closed in April 2008.