Folded the pullout stands have a tray of 3Why not but it is really not the purpose of the debateI begin my tour Editor's note with the exhibitOscar on October 1Its rare escapades the reserves for the Opera The system had shortcomings by partitioning he saidIt will perhaps become your favorite leisureHalf a dozen leaders of the CAC 40 settled thereBut when Europe is not yet won far from itAlso the Euribor 3 months EUR rate fell 0Revel the message of the patterns is moreIt was expected of IBM, the redemption came from Oracle. The American publisher of software yesterday announced the acquisition of Sun Microsystems for approximately 7.4 billion (EUR 5.7 billion), including debt. Oracle will redeem cash full Sun shares at a price of $ 9.50 per title, offering a premium of 42 from the last closing price of Sun Friday on the Nasdaq. Oracle had a cash flow of $ 8.2 billion by late February.
Disclosed prior to the opening of Wall Street, this operation has been the effect of a bomb. The CEO of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, is said to be "very surprised" by the announcement. It must be said that the negotiations between the two groups have been smoothly conducted they have started that Thursday last according to the Reuters news agency had been the object of any leaks in the press. Most importantly, the operation was made public two weeks just after the failure of an attempted takeover of Sun Microsystems by IBM. Big Blue had offered approximately $ 6.5 billion in cash (9,40 dollars per title) in the hope of increasing its dominance on the market of enterprise servers. In vain. Since in the last straight line, two groups have failed to agree on the financial terms of the transaction ("Les Echos" from April 7). In response, Sun action had fallen by 22, the Fellowship showing that it did not believe in an alternative. It was effective without Oracle.
"With the acquisition of Sun, Oracle can now provide all parts of an Assembly of technologies that fit perfectly: storage, computers, operating systems, databases, infrastructure software and applications", welcomed the President and CEO of Oracle, Larry Ellison. The number two world software (22.4 billion in turnover and 5.5 billion net profit last year) behind Microsoft is a habitué of the takeovers of companies. Since 2005, he has spent nearly $ 35 billion in external growth, placing the hands on software as BEA, PeopleSoft, or Siebel.
Strategic shift
But the redemption of Sun (13.8 billion of turnover and a profit of 403 million in 2008) marks a strategic shift in unprecedented for Oracle. For the first time, the group does not a giant software but a business making 60 of its activity in the sale of equipment seized. Sun is, in effect, the number four global enterprise servers. By playing both on software and equipment, Oracle hopes to better compete with groups such as HP, IBM, or even Microsoft. But it will also have to confront new competition...
Balance that with this acquisition, Oracle will take possession of two key Sun technologies: Java computer programming language and the Solaris operating system. Or Oracle Fusion Middleware software, which saves one of the best growth among its products is precisely based on the Java language. In addition, the Solaris system is used by Oracle database software, sector the Group lighthouse.
"Oracle and Sun are partners for more than twenty years, and their merger is a natural evolution of their relationship", also failed to note Scott McNealy, Chairman of the Board of Directors and co-founder of Sun. Proximity is certainly not foreign to the speed of the discussions. For Phil Dawson, Vice President Research Gartner, the acquisition of Sun by Oracle "made more sense" than if it had been conducted by IBM. Big Blue, which had the hope to control two thirds of the world market for servers on Unix, "must now reposition", according to him.
While the operation should be completed this summer, Oracle found that it should generate operating income $ 1.5 billion the first year, and over $ 2 billion the second. This argument was however clearly not enough to convince investors of the strategic "jumping" from Oracle. At the opening of the Nasdaq, the action lost approximately 6 while that of Sun bouncing 36. Or achieve redress its sales, Sun Microsystems was seeking a purchaser for months. It is now made.
