On 29 April 2008, the European Commission approved the acquisition of BEA Systems, a provider of middleware software, by Oracle Corporation. The Commission examined the potential effects of the merger on the overall middleware software segment and various sub-segments (namely application servers, portals, enterprise service bus software, and application integration software), and found that the horizontal overlap between the parties' activities would not give rise to competition concerns in the EEA because sufficient alternative suppliers remain on the market.
A team from CRA International's London office, including Matthias Pflanz, Hristina Dantcheva, and Adrien Cervera-Jackson assisted Oracle throughout the European Commission proceedings.