Boston: BEA Systems Inc said it is prepared to sell itself for $8.2 billion, which is a 24 per cent premium to a bid from Oracle Corp that the business software maker rejected.

BEA, which is under pressure from activist investor Carl Icahn to find a buyer, said it was worth $21 per share, $4 more than the $17 per share Oracle offered on October 12.

Shares of BEA closed at $17.53 on the Nasdaq on Thursday, down two cents.

"Over the last several weeks, Oracle has repeatedly asked us for the price at which we would be willing to begin negotiations," BEA's board said in a statement. BEA is "prepared to authorise negotiations with third parties including Oracle at a price of $21 per share", it said.

An Oracle spokesman declined to comment. The world's third-largest software maker had set a Sunday deadline for its $6.7 billion bid for BEA.