Oracle braces for EU knockback

Europe is still concerned about the anti-competitive implications of Oracle's purchase of Sun

Oracle is bracing itself for a knockback in its attempts to acquire Sun Microsystems, according to reports in the Financial Times.

The database giant's attempts to buy Sun have been under the scrutiny of European regulators for some time, and chief executive Larry Ellison has being urging Brussels to hasten its decision.

Ellison has claimed that Sun is losing $100m (£60m) a month and has shed 3,000 employees as a direct result of the delay.

The European Union said on 22 October that ministers are still concerned about the anti-competitive implications of the deal, but that a final decision is expected soon.

"[Oracle] has refused to offer any concessions to European regulators to meet their concerns about the deal, according to one person close to the process," said the FT report.

"That has left Brussels close to issuing an official statement of objections, the first step on the path to blocking it.

Oracle's acquisition of Sun has already been cleared by the US Department of Justice, and requires only European approval to go ahead.

This week Oracle outlined its plans for some of Sun's flagship products, including MySQL, pledging continued support and increased investment.

A call to Oracle's UK public relations department revealed that Oracle is aware of the FT article, but had not prepared a statement. Further calls yielded a "no comment" response.