Oracle late on Sunday carried through on its threat to drop its $6.7bn offer for BEA Systems, though it did not rule out renewing its bid if shareholders succeed in pressuring the embattled software company to put itself up for sale.

It also issued a thinly veiled invitation to Carl Icahn, the activist shareholder who has become one of BEA’s biggest shareholders, to launch a proxy battle to force BEA’s hand.