MySQL Co-founder and Others Believe So
An assessment of the Oracle-Sun acquisition in terms of the future for the open source database MySQL is presented by Steve Evans of CBR in the article “What now for MySQL?” He reviews the hard fight Oracle eventually won to become owner of MySQL, and offers why the EU’s decision should assuage some of the worries of the open source community.
Oracle to Present its Sun Strategy on Jan. 27
The European Commission has issued regulatory approval for Oracle’s acquisition of Sun Microsystems, Inc. for $7.4 billion. Oracle announced the news Jan. 21, and revealed it also expects unconditional approval from China and Russia. It intends to close the transaction shortly. Oracle CEO Larry Ellison has scheduled a live event set to take place January 27, to lay out the plans for combining the two companies and their products. Registration for the event, which will be broadcast globally, is currently underway.
EU Antitrust Chief Vacating Post on Jan. 26th
Dec. 10 is the day Oracle will be presenting its case to European Union regulators on why it should be allowed to acquire Sun. The European Commission has objected to the $7 billion deal, saying the combination of Sun’s MySQL database product and Oracle’s products could hinder competition in the database market. This ruling has met with opposition from a variety of sources and galvanized letter writing campaigns urging the EU to reconsider its stance. The EC also announced on Nov. 30 that Neelie Kroes, the commission’s competition commissioner for the last five years, will be assigned to a new job. Kroes has been in charge of the investigation into Oracle’s proposed purchase of Sun.
Letter Cites Sun’s Precarious Financial Condition, Fears of More Layoffs 
A group of 59 U.S. senators sent a letter to the European Commission (EC) on Nov. 24 urging the European antitrust regulators to hurry their investigation into Oracle’s acquisition of Sun, citing the latter’s “precarious” financial condition and fears about more layoffs at the struggling computing company, reported AP Technology Writer Jordan Robertson.
Ruling Extended Eight Days at Oracle’s Request
European Union (EU) regulators extended the deadline for their final decision on Oracle’s plans to buy Sun by eight days. Announced on November 20, this extension was set in place to satisfy a request made by Oracle who is building its rebuttal to the European Commission’s Statement of Objections issued on November 9th opposing Sun’s acquisition by Oracle. The Commission said it has pushed back its deadline to January 27, 2010, from the original January 19 deadline set back in September.
Sun SEC Filing Reports Planned Job Cuts
The European Union (EU) confirmed that Oracle President Safra Catz met with EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes for negotiations over the company’s acquisition of Sun, which disclosed in a SEC filing this week that it plans on cutting up to 3,000 jobs due to the delay in the acquisition.
The Ed Zander Interview at the Churchill Club
Anyone interested in the Sun-Oracle merger should take an hour and a half to watch the replay of former Motorola and Sun executive Ed Zander’s interview of Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, which took place September 21 before a gathering of industry dignitaries at the Churchill Club in San Jose, Calif. Ellison discusses his plans for Oracle and the various Sun technologies soon to be acquired when, or if, the European Union approves the buyout.
Discusses Acquistion Delay, Financials, Competition in Interview 
Oracle CEO Larry Ellison said he has no plans to spin off MySQL and expressed the urgent need to complete the $7.4 billion merger with Sun. Ellison made these remarks during an interview conducted by former Motorola and Sun executive Ed Zander before a gathering of industry dignitaries in San Jose, Calif., on September 21, reported InfoWorld’s Paul Krill. Ellison did say that Sun is losing about $100 million a month with the delay from European regulators on the buyout of Sun.
