News61 US Senators Prod the EC to Speed Up Approval of Oracle-Sun...

61 US Senators Prod the EC to Speed Up Approval of Oracle-Sun Merger

A bipartisan cabal of U.S. Senators sent a message to the European Commission (EC) regarding the delayed Oracle-Sun merger. They said it’s time to stop dithering and approve the marriage already. Jobs are on the line.

“The deal between Oracle and Sun was announced in April and seven months have gone by without a resolution. Continued delay of the European Commission’s decision on clearance threatens thousands of American jobs, so we felt compelled to ask for a speedy resolution,” Kerry said in the statement.

The EC has not ruled on whether to allow Oracle to purchase Sun Microsystems, Inc. The commission is concerned about what the merger will do to competition in the database server marketplace. Sun owns the popular open source MySQL database, which currently competes with Oracle’s commercial products.

The U.S. Department of Justice already approved the merger and there’s fear that Sun might not make it much longer.

“Unfortunately, Sun Microsystems’ financial position has become more precarious and the Commission’s inquiry has continued. Some have raised concerns over the company’s ability to continue to employ its thousands of workers,” said the letter addressed to the EC’s Acting Head of Delegation Angelos Pangratis.

The U.S. Department of Justice looks at corporate mergers differently than the European Commission.

“The DOJ runs on completely different competition rules than the EU,” Gartner Research Vice President Martin Reynolds told InternetNews.com. “The DOJ looks at where there is harm to consumers. Their decision is businesses can look after themselves. The EU is more likely to be protective of competitors. They believe trade is better with more small competitors.”

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