Oracle's Purchase of Sun Microsystems Approved by U.S. Government

Oracle Corp., a software provider, has been given the approval by the U.S. antitrust to buy computer maker Sun Microsystems (News - Alert), for reportedly $7.4 billion, to be completed before the end of this month, according to CNBC.com.

Oracle officials said yesterday that the deal cleared by the U.S. Justice Department with no restrictions however the takeover also requires approval by the European Commission.

The company had announced its intention to acquire Sun in April, outbidding IBM (News - Alert). U.S. officials said in June they wanted to question Oracle's plans for licensing Sun's Java software, a highly used computer language.

Oracle (News - Alert) uses Sun's Java software to build its Fusion Middleware, and company officials have said that it is the most important software Oracle has attempted to acquire.

According to CNBC.com Oracle has been “courting Sun's customers during the past few months, trying to persuade them to change suppliers amid uncertainty about Oracle's plans for running the server business.”

Sun's shareholders have already approved the deal, according to Reuters (News - Alert).

The deal gives Oracle's CEO, Larry Ellison, control of Sun's Java software and the Solaris operating system for UNIX servers.

Ellison said he wants to build and sell Sun computers preloaded with Oracle software and also tweak Java software so that it is easier to use on smartphones and netbook computers.

Shares of Oracle closed up 16 cents at $21.94 prior to the approval.

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Jessica Kostek is a channel editor for TMCnet, covering VoIP, CRM, call center and wireless technologies. To read more of Jessica’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Jessica Kostek