Analysts believe that Oracle will still buy BEA ... eventually. However, since no "white knights" have stepped forward to make competing offers, the consensus is that the $17 offer Oracle initially made was too high a price. Carl Icahn, who owns 15 percent of BEA, wrote "I view your public declaration of a $21-per-share, 'take it or leave it' price as a management entrenchment tactic, not a negotiating technique" in an open letter to the BEA board. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison also seems to have a take-it-or-leave-it attitude towards BEA, having said nothing since Oracle's initial offer expired last week. "Now, both sides will probably stand back and stare at each other for a while," said one analyst. How unexciting.

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