Oracle-Sun deal misses fast-track approval

By Jim Finkle and Diane Bartz
26 June 2009 @ 06:40 pm EDT

Oracle Corp failed to win fast-track approval from U.S. antitrust regulators for its $7 billion deal to buy Microsystems Inc , an attorney for Oracle said on Friday.

A Sun Microsystems sign is pictured at the company's headquarters in Santa Clara, California in this March 18, 2009 file photo.

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The Department of Justice has asked both companies for information related to the licensing of Sun's Java software language, said Daniel Wall, a partner with Latham & Watkins.

The request was related to a narrow, technical matter, according to Wall, who said he expected the DOJ to soon approve the deal and allow Oracle to complete the acquisition before its fiscal quarter ends on August 31.

"It is very small. It is not something that I think is ultimately a serious issue," Wall said in an interview. "It is something the DOJ felt it needed to look into and that is what we are going to do."

Friday marked the expiration of an initial 30-day fast-track review period in which antitrust officials could have approved the deal by simply letting the deadline pass without formally asking any questions.

A spokesman for the DOJ declined to comment.

(Reporting by Jim Finkle and Diane Bartz, editing by Tiffany Wu)

Oracle-Sun deal misses fast-track approval

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