Could HP Buy BEA Systems?

BEA Systems (BEAS) this morning said revenue for its fiscal first quarter ended yesterday totaled $342 million to $347 million, short of Street estimates of $357.8 million, and previous guidance of $350 million to $365 million. The company sees license revenue in the quarter of $111 million to $116 million.

In a statement, CEO Alfred Chuang said the company “saw a difficult selling environment, especially in the Americas, and several large deals slipped out of the quarter.” He also said that the company made some changes in its sales organization in the quarter which “caused some disruption in the short run.”

The company will release results May 16, although details will be limited due to the company’s ongoing stock-options backdating probe.

In a brief research note this morning, Trip Chowdhry, of Global Equities Research, asserts that the company is facing intense competition from Oracle (ORCL). He also says that there are “very strong” rumors in the Valley that the company could be acquired by Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) at around $15 a share. Chowdhry says his sources indicate that 70% of BEA deployments are happening on HP hardware. He also says that Oracle has apparently dropped out of the bidding to buy BEA.

This morning, BEA was down $1.19 at $10.60.