It appears from a WikiLeaks diplomatic cable drop that the US lobbied the European Commission to clear Oracle’s $7.4 million acquisition of Sun and all its satellites. Oracle apparently told the US, and the US apparently relayed the message that Oracle wouldn’t divest MySQL, a condition that would “destroy” the deal, and if Oracle didn’t buy Sun, Sun would go belly up. One of Oracle’s stated reasons for holding on to MySQL was to avoid a huge loss on a property that Sun had overpaid a billion dollars for and Oracle couldn’t unload for anywhere near that price. Deputy chief of the US Mission to the European Union Ambassador Christopher Murray wrote home saying, “The Department of Justice/Antitrust views this matter as a high priority. Its senior officials and investigative staff are currently engaging productively and intensely with their DG Comp [Directorate General for Competition] counterparts and are in close touch with Oracle and Sun in the hopes of preventing a divergent outcome.”

read more