Oracle in $7.4bn swoop on Sun

View an online version of this email here.  All times are London time: Monday Apr 20 2009 Breaking news Oracle in $7.4bn swoop on Sun Oracle unveiled a surprise $7.4bn a share offer for Sun Microsystems on Monday that is set to shake up the market for corporate IT systems. The agreed deal, at $9.50 a share in cash, comes two weeks after negotiations for an acquisition by IBM at the same price fell apart. It will push Oracle, whose business is still heavily reliant on its original database software, into a wide range of other computer hardware and software, transforming its business and making it a direct competitor of industry giants IBM and Hewlett-Packard. Read more » ABOUT THIS EMAIL You have received this email because you have signed up for this briefing on FT.com Manage subscriptions | Unsubscribe | Change your email address Change whether you receive this email as HTML or plain text | Forward this email to a friend Privacy policy | Advertise | Contact © Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2009. "FT" and "Financial Times" are trademarks of the Financial Times. The Financial Times Limited, registered in England and Wales number 227590. Registered office: Number One Southwark Bridge, London SE1 9HL. VAT number GB 278 5371 21.