Sun Microsystems has decided that it will reduce its workforce by 3,000 jobs, or 10 percent of all its employees, because of several delays in its acquisition by Oracle Corp. Even after Oracle completes the acquisition of Sun, though, the company, which has been struggling with declining revenues, expects even more job reductions to occur.
The acquisition of Sun by Oracle was expected to close by the summer, but the deal has hit a snag in the form of European regulators that have been unwilling to approve the merger over fears that the new colossal company would snuff out competition. Sun’s …read more

Antitrust regulators have had IBM in their sights for a while amidst concerns that the computer giant may squelch too much of its competition and hold a monopoly in the mainframe market. However, many analysts have begun to point out that IBM’s so-called monopoly on the mainframe market might actually only exist in small subsets of the market.
According to analysts, the part of the mainframe market that antitrust regulators have accused IBM of monopolizing makes up only a small portion of the wider server market, a playing field in which there is now plenty of competition. Oracle’s impending acquisition of …read more

Software giant Oracle’s takeover of Sun Microsystems may not go so smoothly in Europe, where the European Commission has stated that the combination of Oracle and Sun would end up eliminating the growth of Sun’s free corporate database program. The European Commission has decided to continue investigating the merger, even though the Justice Department has already approved it.
While U.S. regulators’ main concern involved Oracle’s power in the marketplace, the questions surrounding open-source software have not been as popular on this side of the Atlantic. This would not be the first merger that the U.S. and the European Commission have butt …read more

On the heels of its $4.7 billion acquisition by Oracle, Sun Microsystems has posted a significant quarterly loss as sales fell to disappointing levels. The last quarter probably marks Sun’s last full quarter as an independent company before it is absorbed entirely by software giant Oracle.
 
In a report filed yesterday, Sun reported a loss in the quarter ended June 30, which is the company’s fiscal fourth quarter, of 20 cents per share. This compares to Sun’s profit of 11 cents per share, or $88 million, in the same quarter last year, highlighting the negative impact that the recession has had …read more

In one of the biggest business moves of 2009, Oracle agreed to takeover Sun Microsystems. The deal is estimated to be worth almost $7.5 billion. Sun Microsystems, a company in the computer server industry, had been linked to IBM — but those negotiations broke off and Oracle jumped in.
However, the official Oracle takeover of Sun will have to wait a little bit longer. The United States Department of Justice is requesting further information about the transaction. One of the areas that is under the microscope is what Oracle will do with Java, an extremely popular programming language.
Despite the requests for …read more

For the last few months, Sun Microsystems had appeared to be on the verge of being purchased by IBM. On Monday, many industry experts were shocked to learn that Oracle had hopped over IBM and has reportedly bought Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion.
Sun Microsystems had made it clear that they were for sale. Their sales had been slumping and the future didn’t appear bright for the company. However, they were a hot commodity because of the large industry reach, recognizable brand and an array of impressive customers.
The deal for Oracle now makes them a much more powerful company. Some industry …read more

After IBM abandoned talked about buying Sun Microsystems, Oracle Corp. stepped up. They are now reporting that they’ll be buying the networking equipment maker in a deal worth $7.4 billion.
Oracle, a Redwood Shores, CA information technology company, will reportedly buy Sun for $9.50 per share in cash. When taking into account Sun’s cash and debt, Oracle says that the transaction total is about $5.6 billion. Earlier this month, IBM has offered Sun $9.40 per share, but they withdrew that offer when Sun cancelled the company’s exclusive negotiation rights.
Although Sun has found success with the development of their Java programming language …read more

In recent weeks, many industry experts believed that IBM was close to purchasing Sun Microsystems. However, that deal is now up in the air after a report that IBM has pulled the deal. In total, IBM reportedly had an offer on the table to purchase Sun Microsystems for a $7 billion.
Rumors have surfaced that IBM is angry that Sun Microsystems is now listening to offers from other companies. If that is the truth, this latest news could very well be a bargaining ploy by IBM. While there are a few other companies that could conceivably purchase Sun Microsystems, IBM makes …read more

Rumors began circulating last month about IBM and Sun Microsystems merger, and such a deal seems eminent  pending exact terms and price. However, not everyone is seeing a deal between the companies as a good thing. Because there is significant overlap in the companies’ businesses, a merger could be thousands of layoffs, mostly of Sun Microsystems employees.
According to reports, IBM could lay off up to a third of Sun’s employees, putting more than 10,000 people out of work. Some IBM jobs may also be at risk, and Sun employees may be retained and IBM workers are laid off as redundancies. …read more

The Business Coalition for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy (BICEP) announced today that three new members would be joining this organization, which was started four months ago by Ceres. Joining founding companies Timberland, Nike, Sun Microsystems, Starbucks, and Levi Strauss are Gap, eBay, and Symantec.
The new members were introduced at a business breakfast and policy forum, hosted by Ceres at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. The group hopes that by joining forces, they’ll have a louder voice in calling for strong U.S. climate and energy policies over the next year. EPA administrator Lisa Jackson opened the forum today, saying,
“Leadership …read more