BEA Systems Inc. said Monday it has agreed to buy portal software maker Plumtree Software Inc. for around US$200 million in cash. The deal finally removes from the market a struggling company analysts long expected to be bought by a larger vendor, and adds to BEA's portfolio a new line of collaboration software.
San Jose, California-based BEA will pay $5.50 in cash per share for Plumtree, an 18 percent premium over Plumtree's (ticker symbol: PLUM) Friday closing price of $4.67 on the Nasdaq exchange. Ahead of the acquisition announcement, Plumtree closed up 4 percent on Monday, at $4.86. Pending regulatory and shareholder approvals, the companies expect the deal to close within the next few months.