Icahn: BEA Will Sell, or I Will Oust the Board

Having held out on a time-sensitive $6.7 billion offer from Oracle, BEA Systems management now faces a charge to oust them by billionaire shareholder Carl Icahn, who wields a massive 13.2% stake in the company, the AP reports. BEA says it will not entertain any offer that values it at less than $21 per share -- Oracle offered $17 per share — but to appease Icahn it hinted at other possible buyers.

BEA makes "middleware," which links software to databases. Icahn's proposed coup is his latest attempt to get BEA to sell for less, and it seems Oracle has his back: "If the BEA shareholders are unhappy with the behavior of the BEA board it is up to those shareholders, not Oracle, to take the appropriate action," read a company statement.