Oracle Agrees to Acquire Sun Microsystems

The Wall Street Journal - Oracle Corp. announced a deal to acquire Sun Microsystems Inc. for $5.6 billion excluding cash and debt, calling Sun's Java "the most important software" it has ever acquired.

Earlier this month, Sun's talks to sell itself to International Business Machines Corp. unraveled, raising new questions about the prospects for the company and Sun Chief Executive Jonathan Schwartz, who has been under pressure to come up with an alternative for the struggling computer maker.

The Silicon Valley icon has seen slumping sales of its servers and posted losses in three of its last four quarters.

The companies valued the deal at $7.4 billion including cash and debt. Oracle agreed to pay $9.50 a share for Sun, a 42% premium to Friday's close.http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124022726514434703.html