I have been following BEA Systems (NASDAQ: BEAS) since the mid 1990s. What was once a cutting-edge, leading applications infrastructure play has turned into a me-too, has-been company. The worst part of it all, BEA thinks -- it actually thinks -- it is good! It's an arrogant company led by an arrogant management team.

I visited BEA three times from early 2000 to late 2004, and guess what? BEA was for sale and looking for a suitor even then. Management gives the illusion of wanting to go it alone, and yet several managers made it clear to me and my clients at the time that they would "listen to anyone" -- you know, the old fiduciary responsibility line.

Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) has been rumored since 2002 to be buying BEA Systems. I think the rumors were promoted by none other than BEA itself. In the meantime, Oracle was attempting to "research and develop" a competing product set versus BEA, but with Oracle being Oracle, it was not to be. Oracle has adopted a more productive strategy of acquiring companies, especially beaten-down ones, rather than developing its own in-house applications. At the end of the day, Oracle is a master of the database world and a C player in the apps world.

BEA Systems should thank its lucky stars and hitch up with Oracle as soon as possible. Playing the game of cat-and-mouse is a dangerous one as not that many other players are really interested in this has-been company.

In fairness, two things BEA brings to the table is a decent cash position and plenty of customers. The installed base has never been the issue with BEA; it's been a lack of any consistent growth strategy. The company has been rife with senior sales and marketing turn-over, thus sabotaging any attempts to deliver decent growth.

Give it up BEA: Oracle is probably your only option. Your days as a big-swinging you-know-what are long behind you.

Georges Yared is the CIO of Yared Investment Research and the author of Baby Boomer Investing . . . Where do we go from here?