EU sets date for ruling on Oracle-Sun deal

The European Commission will convene on 3 September to decide whether Oracle's proposed US$7.4bn acquisition of Sun Microsystems can go ahead, or needs further investigation on anti-trust grounds.

The deal had already been delayed by the US Department of Justice, which said that it needed more time to explore how the purchase may affect Java rights licensing.

Analyst firm Gartner, meanwhile, has argued that delays in closing the deal will be unsettling for customers wanting to buy hardware and software because Sun's terms and conditions are likely to change if the acquisition goes through.

Oracle announced its intention to acquire Sun on 20 April, topping a bid from IBM.

The database firm has said that it expects the purchase to generate more profit than the previous acquisitions of BEA, PeopleSoft and Siebel combined, and that Sun will contribute over US$1.5bn to its non-GAAP operating profit in the first year, and more than US$2bn in its second year.

Oracle uses Sun's Java software to build its Fusion Middleware, and has said that it is the most important software Oracle has attempted to acquire.