Oracle Completes $8.5 Billion Takeover of BEA, Layoffs Loom

Business software maker Oracle Corp. completed its $8.5 billion takeover of rival BEA Systems Inc. Tuesday after European regulators approved the deal.

It was Oracle's largest acquisition since the Redwood Shores-based company paid $11.1 billion for PeopleSoft Inc. in 2005. Oracle has now spent about $35 billion buying dozens of its smaller competitors during the past three years in an effort to build a one-stop shop for database and business applications software.

Oracle prizes San Jose-based BEA for its so-called "middleware" — computer coding that helps business programs interact with databases.

The takeover is expected to trigger layoffs among BEA's work force of 4,100 employees, most of whom will receive severance packages as part of a plan adopted late last year while BEA's board was still trying to fend off Oracle.

Oracle has acknowledged job cuts are likely as it strives to maximize its profit from the BEA deal but hasn't specified how many workers will be jettisoned.

A company spokeswoman declined to comment Tuesday.

As of Feb. 28, Oracle employed about 80,200 workers worldwide.