[LinuxUsers] Oracle to buy Sun...

[Jeff Lasman]

On Monday 20 April 2009 05:49 pm, Chris Thomas wrote:

> Here is an interesting article about osnews.com's take on the whole
> deal:
> http://www.osnews.com/story/21340/What_s_Going_to_Happen_with_OpenOff
>ice_MySQL_SPARC_

And here's an interesting letter from Jonathan Schwartz:

<snip>
From: Jonathan I. Schwartz
To: allsun at sun.com
Subject: Today's Sun/Oracle Announcement
Date: Mon, 20 Apr 2009 04:34:16 -0700 (07:34 EDT)

Today's Sun/Oracle Announcement

This is one of the toughest emails I've ever had to write.

It's also one of the most hopeful about Sun's future in the industry.

For 27 years, Sun has stood for courage, innovation, a willingness to 
blaze trails, to envision and engineer the future. No matter our ups 
and downs, we've remained committed to those ideals, and to the R&D 
that's allowed us to differentiate. We've committed to decade long 
pursuits, from the evolution of one of the world's most powerful 
datacenter operating systems, to one of the world's most advanced 
multi-core microelectronics. We've never walked away from the wholesale 
reinvention of business models, the redefinition of technology 
boundaries or the pursuit of new routes to market.

Because of the unparalleled talent at Sun, we've also fueled entire 
industries with our people and technologies, and fostered extraordinary 
companies and market successes. Our products and services have driven 
the discovery of new drugs, transformed social media, and created a 
better understanding of the world and marketplace around us. All, while 
we've undergone a near constant transformation in the face of a rapidly 
changing marketplace and global economy. We've never walked away from a 
challenge - or an opportunity.

So today we take another step forward in our journey, but along a 
different path - by announcing that this weekend, our board of 
directors and I approved the acquisition of Sun Microsystems by the 
Oracle Corporation for $9.50/share in cash. All members of the board 
present at the meeting to review the transaction voted for it with 
enthusiasm, and the transaction stands to utterly transform the 
marketplace - bringing together two companies with a long history of 
working together to create a newly unified vision of the future.

Oracle's interest in Sun is very clear - they aspire to help customers 
simplify the development, deployment and operation of high value 
business systems, from applications all the way to datacenters. By 
acquiring Sun, Oracle will be well positioned to help customers solve 
the most complex technology problems related to running a business.

To me, this proposed acquisition totally redefines the industry, 
resetting the competitive landscape by creating a company with great 
reach, expertise and innovation. A combined Oracle/Sun will be capable 
of cultivating one of the world's most vibrant and far reaching 
developer communities, accelerating the convergence of storage, 
networking and computing, and delivering one of the world's most 
powerful and complete portfolios of business and technical software.

I do not consider the announcement to be the end of the road, not by any 
stretch of the imagination. I believe this is the first step down a 
different path, one that takes us and our innovations to an even 
broader market, one that ensures the ubiquitous role we play in the 
world around us. The deal was announced today, and, after regulatory 
review and shareholder approval, will take some months to close - until 
that close occurs, however, we are a separate company, operating 
independently. No matter how long it takes, the world changed starting 
today.

But it's important to note it's not the acquisition that's changing the 
world - it's the people that fuel both companies. Having spent a 
considerable amount of time talking to Oracle, let me assure you they 
are single minded in their focus on the one asset that doesn't appear 
in our financial statements: our people. That's their highest priority 
- creating an inviting and compelling environment in which our 
brightest minds can continue to invent and deliver the future.

Thank you for everything you've done over the years, and for everything 
you will do in the future to carry the business forward. I'm incredibly 
proud of this company and what we've accomplished together.

Details will be forthcoming as we work together on the integration 
planning process.

Jonathan
</snip>

PS: I wonder what kind of letter he's going to send to the 10,000 
employess Oracle will lay off?

Jeff
-- 
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