Justice Department wants more information about Oracle’s takeover of Sun Microsystems

Regulators extend review of Oracle’s Sun takeover

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif — The Department of Justice wants more information about Oracle Corp.’s planned takeover of computer server maker Sun Microsystems Inc., extending the agency’s review of the $7.4 billion deal.

Software maker Oracle said in a statement Friday that the Justice Department has extended its initial 30-day review period to seek additional information. The government’s questions focus on the licensing of Java, the programming language developed by Sun that runs on more than 1 billion devices around the world.

Oracle counsel Dan Wall said the issue “is never going to get in the way of the deal.”

“I fully expect that the investigation will end soon and not delay the closing of the deal this summer,” said Wall, an attorney with Latham & Watkins.

Wall Street analysts expect the deal to close by summer’s end. The transaction was not expected to face antitrust objections because the companies have very little overlap.

Following the deal’s close, Redwood Shores, Calif.-based Oracle will have the resources for its own one-stop technology shop, similar to IBM and Hewlett-Packard, to sell services, software and hardware.