Oracle is buying Sun Microsystems in deal valued at $7.4 billion (5.08 billion).
The two industry giants have entered into a definitive agreement in which Oracle will acquire Sun stock at $9.50 (6.50) a share.
In an announcement to the press, Larry Ellison, Oracle's chief executive, predicted that through the acquisition, Sun could experience $1.5 billion in annual growth.
He said: "Solaris and Java have been instrumental in Oracle's decision to buy Sun. Oracle can increase investment in Java for its middleware and Solaris is by far the best UNIX technology available with more Oracle databases running on this than any other system."
The focus for the future is on building an integrated system, using the soon-to-be-created joint expertise and providing what Ellison called "an integrated system from database to disk."
Sun's chairman, Scott McNealy, added: "Sun and Oracle have been partners for over 20 years but today marks the next big step. This is truly momentous for the industry as we will be the only totally integrated system available and the largest supplier of Open software."
"There is no question in my mind that this deal redraws the boundaries in the industry."
Previously, it was IBM who was the favourite to buy Sun, but reports claim that the company had lost interest.
-
Cleo attack victim list grows as Hertz confirms customer data stolenNews Hertz has confirmed it suffered a data breach as a result of the Cleo zero-day vulnerability in late 2024, with the car rental giant warning that customer data was stolen.
-
Lateral moves in tech: Why leaders should support employee mobilityIn-depth Encouraging staff to switch roles can have long-term benefits for skills in the tech sector
-
IBM eyes Oracle expertise gains with latest acquisitionNews The deal aims to help IBM address the complexities of public sector cloud transformation
-
Channel Focus: All you need to know about Oracle's partner programWhat to know about partnering with Oracle: A brief guide to the database management software company as it expands further into cloud solutions
-
Compliance through automation and localizationITPro Podcast The crossover between automation, localization, and even AI is strong
-
Will NetSuite take a cautious approach to AI at SuiteWorld 2023?Analysis Generative AI is likely to loom large over SuiteWorld – but NetSuite may instead bank on boosting its core end-to-end automation tech
-
Oracle updates HCM capabilities to focus on value and set employees up for successNews Reward and recognition - especially by peers - are key tenets of the update to the Oracle Me employee experience platform
-
Oracle: Generative AI is bigger than B2B, bigger than usNews Oracle's CTO, chairman, and current CEO once again set the bar high during Oracle CloudWorld 2023 keynotes
-
Oracle sets out its stall for a new age of multi-cloudOpinion Embracing rival providers with open arms is a bold strategy, one that plays to Oracle’s strengths in infrastructure
-
The best IT management toolsBest We feature the best IT management tools, to help make the process of managing IT systems simpler and easier, from customer support to diagnostics
