Oracle To Acquire Sun For $7.4 Billion
By Anna Johnson on April 22nd, 2009Following IBM’s decision to pull out of buying Sun Microsystems, Oracle Corporation has stepped in to acquire all of Sun’s common stock for $9.50 per share in cash.
The transaction is valued at approximately $7.4 billion, or $5.6 billion net of Sun’s cash and debt.
Oracle plans to take advantage of what it calls the ‘long-term strategic customer advantages’ of owning two key Sun software assets: Java and Solaris.
Oracle’s Fusion Middleware is built on top of Sun’s Java language and software, and the Sun Solaris operating system is the leading platform for the Oracle database, Oracle’s largest business.
With the acquisition of Sun, Oracle aims to optimize the Oracle database for some of the unique, high-end features of Solaris. Oracle has indicated it will continue to support Linux and the other open platforms introduced by Sun.
The Board of Directors of Sun Microsystems has unanimously approved the transaction. The companies expect to close the deal over the coming months, subject to Sun stockholder approval, certain regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions.
