SAP stays out of BEA bidding war

SAP chief Henning Kagermann is 'not interested' in buying BEA

SAP has no interest in acquiring BEA Systems and will not launch a bid rivalling Oracle's $6.7bn offer.

SAP chief executive Henning Kagermann told The Financial Times on Monday that the firm is interested only in " complementary deals" that allow it to expand into new markets.

A combination of SAP and BEA would have too much overlap, according to Kagermann.

SAP agreed earlier this month to acquire Business Objects, a firm specialising in business intelligence. Investors have expressed fears that Oracle could attempt to derail the transaction by outbidding SAP.

Anne Thomas Manes, a research director with analyst firm Burton Group, argued that a SAP bidding war is unlikely. "BEA does not really offer much to SAP," she wrote on a company blog.

"BEA has a few nice bits that SAP could exploit: AquaLogic Data Services, AquaLogic Enterprise Security, the SIP server extension to WebLogic Server, and the Workshop tooling. But these certainly are not worth [more than] $7bn to SAP. "

BEA has turned down Oracle's offer, claiming that the figure undervalues the company. The two have exchanged several letters, suggesting that Oracle might have to launch a hostile takeover bid.

BEA's valuation jumped to $7.2bn after Oracle launched its bid, indicating that investors expect Oracle to further raise its offer.