The New York Post ran a story claiming that Oracle was seeking a compromise with the European Union regarding what to do with the open source MySQL database server if Oracle is allowed to purchase Sun Microsystems, but Oracle says that’s bull.
“The New York Post article is completely untrue,” Deborah Hellinger, a spokeswoman for Oracle, told Reuters.
The New York Post story relied on two unnamed sources.
“According to the sources,” reported the New York Post, “Ellison is now willing to create a separate entity within a combined Oracle-Sun that houses Sun’s MySQL open database software business in order to get the deal completed before a hearing Thursday by the European Commission.”
The European Commission, which regulates competition in the 27-country EU, is holding up Oracle’s $7 billion deal to purchase Sun. The commission is concerned that competition in the $19 billion a year database market will be hurt if Oracle controls the popular MySQL database, in addition to its own commercial database products.
