Offering regional and national programs, CIO (and CSO) events bring together some of the most respected names and thought leaders in information technology and security. Presented by CIOs and other senior level executives, these invitation-only programs offer timely topics and strong networking. Learn More »
June 17, 11:30 AM - 12:30 PM U.S./ET (GMT-4)
Larry Bonfante, CIO of the U.S. Tennis Association, will discuss the skills and approaches that your rising IT leaders must learn to be effective in an executive capacity.
How to Handle Your New CEO: Managing Turnover at the Top
June 18, 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM U.S./Eastern (GMT-4)
Turbulent times have increased turnover at the top. Find out what Council CIOs have done to "break in" new CEOs—build relationships, set expectations, educate on the role of IT.
Mid-Market CIO Panel: Tips and Techniques for Improving Vendor Relationships
July 15, 4:00 PM - 5:00 PM U.S./Eastern (GMT-4)
We'll highlight relationship priorities and best practices identified in a Council study, and we'll interact with a CIO panel on the approaches they've used to improve strategic vendor partnerships.
Executive Competencies Assessment Tool
Assess Your Business Leadership Skills with the Council's new benchmarking tool. Rate yourself in change leadership, strategy, customer focus and more.
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January 16, 2008 — IDG News Service —
Oracle has agreed to buy BEA Systems for about $8.5 billion, the companies announced Wednesday. The deal comes just three months after the middleware vendor turned down an earlier offer of $6.7 billion.
Oracle hopes that acquiring middleware vendor BEA will allow it to improve its own middleware suite, Fusion.
That middleware is key to helping customers migrate their systems to a service-oriented architecture (SOA), CEO Larry Ellison said in a conference call last month to discuss the company's earnings.
With Fusion already able to link to BEA's WebLogic Java application server, the deal is likely to speed Oracle's adoption of Java-based middleware, the company said.
Oracle's customers have been telling it for years to buy BEA, it said.
However, the members of BEA's board were less sold on the idea: They turned down an offer from Oracle of $17 per BEA share in October, saying it "significantly undervalues BEA." Oracle in turn dismissed the BEA board's counteroffer of $21 per share as "impossibly high."
But on Wednesday the companies split the difference, and BEA's board announced it had unanimously approved Oracle's latest offer of $19.37 in cash per BEA share.
The board accepted only after spending several months looking for other ways to maximize shareholder value, BEA Chairman and CEO Alfred Chuang said in a statement.
The companies expect to close the deal by midyear, subject to the approval of regulators and BEA shareholders.