Sun. IBM

Oracle buys integration challenge along with Sun

Through one important piece of corporate computing jargon--"integration"--Oracle has found a justification for its $7.4 billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems. Now it will have to convince historically skeptical customers, too, that the idea makes sense.

The all-cash acquisition agreement--announced Monday, costing Oracle $5.6 billion with Sun's cash factored in, and expected to close this summer--puts the innovative but financially bumbling Sun out of its misery after IBM's move to buy it fell apart earlier in April. The way to fit Sun's technology into Oracle's business model goes back to a … Read more

Sun to IBM: Please come back

This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines.

Sun Microsystems will reportedly be willing to resume takeover talks with IBM if Big Blue says it will commit to closing the deal.

Bloomberg reports the news based on two people familiar with the matter. The two companies currently aren't talking and each one is waiting for the other to make a move.

Gee, I wonder why Sun would be so willing to talk to IBM again...

Fairly obvious, eh? But it's not all about the stock chart. There's another little problem: Sun doesn't have any … Read more

Sun stands by its man

After taking a beating in the stock market Monday following the reported collapse of a merger deal with IBM, Sun Microsystems stood by its leadership team.

Reuters reported that Sun declined to confirm the breakdown in negotiations, but did say "Sun is committed to its leadership team, growth strategy and building value for its shareholders." Speculation had been building that CEO Jonathan Schwartz was in trouble after The Wall Street Journal reported that Chairman Scott McNealy had quashed a possible deal with IBM over Schwartz's objections.

IBM and Sun had been talking for several weeks about a … Read more

Sun's board may have 'a lot of explaining to do'

Sun Microsystems' board members are "going to have a lot of explaining to do if they turned down an offer of $9.40," Sanford C. Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi told The Wall Street Journal.

His assessment followed a New York Times report Sunday that IBM has withdrawn its $7 billion offer for Sun.

Just as Yahoo's rejection of Microsoft's offer left it looking aimless in front of its customers, so, too, could Sun's lack of an IBM wedding band leave it looking like damaged goods to its customer base--and to the open-source community.

It's … Read more

Envisioning Sun on IBM's horizon

An IBM acquisition of Sun Microsystems would mean big change for the companies, cloud computing, and the technology landscape. We've rounded up our breaking stories, analysis, and interviews from the past few weeks as the story has unfolded.

No IBM deal? Confusion sets in for Sun customers

This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines.

It appears that Sun Microsystems won't be acquired by IBM, after all. Now the explaining--mostly to customers and shareholders--really begins.

Sun will tell its customers that the IBM deal was just a slight detour and that the company's plan to be a pivotal hardware, cloud-computing, and software provider remains intact. The big question is whether customers will buy Sun's talk--not to mention Sun's gear. For shareholders, Sun has to explain why it split over the IBM offer.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Sun'… Read more

Microsoft server boss on Sun-IBM, economy, more

SAN FRANCISCO--The server market is rough these days and the tough times are having a variety of repercussions.

One of those impacts, says Windows Server Vice President Bill Laing, is the reported deal in the works between IBM and Sun Microsystems.

"It's not surprising," Laing said, as part of a wide-ranging interview on Friday. "I think the economy has accelerated this," he said, pointing to other deals, such as this week's acquisition of SGI's assets by Rackable Systems.

"The server business has certainly been struggling really the last six months," Laing … Read more

Open Sources Episode 10 (video): Web 2.0 is dead

Lucky break for all you Open Sources podcast fans--Matt Asay and I went to the Web 2.0 event Tuesday and instead of podcasting, we shot some video footage using the iSight camera on my Mac and a Flip Video camera. It won't win any videography awards, but it was great sitting next to each other to record this episode.

As I continue to nurse a hand injury, I am happy to say no one was hurt during the filming.

Follow me on Twitter @daveofdoom

Sun shares make a downhill run

Shares of Sun Microsystems took a hit in Monday morning trading, falling at least 7 percent while the broader markets advance.

Sun fell as low as $7.53 a share, following reports Friday in The Wall Street Journal that IBM is currently engaged in combing through Sun's contracts, as part of the evaluation process on whether to move forward with an acquisition.

Sun's shares had been on a rocket ride, after reports surfaced last week in the Journal that IBM was in negotiations to acquire the company for roughly $6.5 billion.

After the reports surfaced, Sun's … Read more

Investors grill Hurd on bonuses, competition

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--At its annual meeting of shareholders, Hewlett-Packard Chief Executive Mark Hurd assured attendees that despite the economy, the company would be well-positioned against the competition.

"The market is getting tougher; all the hard work we've done up to this point has put us in a favorable position," he told the roughly 90 people in attendance.

There were just two items of business on this year's agenda--10 nominees to the board, all of whom were elected or re-elected, and selection of a new accounting firm--but neither were as contentious as the pointed question-and-answer period … Read more