Oracle Takeover of Sun Hits Speed Bump

Software giant Oracle’s takeover of Sun Microsystems may not go so smoothly in Europe, where the European Commission has stated that the combination of Oracle and Sun would end up eliminating the growth of Sun’s free corporate database program. The European Commission has decided to continue investigating the merger, even though the Justice Department has already approved it.

While U.S. regulators’ main concern involved Oracle’s power in the marketplace, the questions surrounding open-source software have not been as popular on this side of the Atlantic. This would not be the first merger that the U.S. and the European Commission have butt heads over, such as the 2003 General Electric and Honeywell merger that was plainly rejected by the commission.

Oracle has already had its own experiences with European Union regulators, such as in 2004 when Oracle decided to take over PeopleSoft. While the European Commission did participate in an investigation very similar to the one that it plans to undergo now with Oracle’s acquisition of Sun, it eventually allowed Sun to go ahead with its takeover.

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