Oracle to buy Sun in $7.4 billion deal

From CNET News.com: Oracle and Sun announced Monday that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Oracle will acquire Sun common stock for $9.50 per share in cash. That puts the value of the transaction at approximately $7.4 billion, or $5.6 billion net of Sun's cash and debt.

Oracle President Safra Catz said in a statement:

"We expect this acquisition to be accretive to Oracle's earnings by at least 15 cents on a non-GAAP basis in the first full year after closing. We estimate that the acquired business will contribute over $1.5 billion to Oracle's non-GAAP operating profit in the first year, increasing to over $2 billion in the second year. This would make the Sun acquisition more profitable in per share contribution in the first year than we had planned for the acquisitions of BEA, PeopleSoft and Siebel combined. "

Sun made its name as a supplier of server hardware during the dot-com heyday, but its best-known technology is software: Java. In the Monday morning announcement, the two companies said that Java "is the most important software Oracle has ever acquired."

Sun's board has unanimously approved the transaction. The deal is expected to close this summer, subject to Sun stockholder approval, regulatory approvals, and closing conditions.

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