Oracle to Buy Sun

Officially squashing rumors of an IBM purchase once and for all, Sun Micro Systems will be acquired by software company Oracle for about $7.4 billion, The New York Times reported this morning.

The deal, which comes to $9.50 a share, is nearly $1 billion more than what Big Blue offered and Sun refused two weeks ago. It's also nearly twice Sun's market value, which closed at $6.69 per share Friday, the Times reported. The deal is expected to close this summer.

Mark Amtower, a contracting specialist and founder of consulting and government marketing firm Amtower & Co., blogged that the deal will likely make Sun more competitive, because the company now has the financial backing of Oracle, who reported on Saturday net income of $1.33 billion for the third quarter of 2009. Cash flows were $8 billion for the past 12 months.