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WSJ: IBM, Sun Talks 'Unraveling'

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the proposed $7 billion dollar deal for IBM Corp. to acquire Sun Microsystems virtually collapsed this weekend.

Unnamed sources told the paper that price IBM offered -- ranging from $9.10 to $9.40 per share -- "wasn't the biggest issue." Instead, a combination of concerns, including how committed IBM is to the acquisition, reportedly left Sun's board "split" over the deal, with Sun co-founder and Chairman Scott McNealy in the against camp. This resulted in Sun turning down IBM's offer on Saturday, and IBM formally withdrawing the offer Sunday.

Reporters William M. Bulkeley and Don Clark wrote that the parties are still communicating via telephone, although the talks can be characterized as "confrontational," They also point out that even if successful, any merger could face difficulties from both European and U.S. antitrust regulators.

As of Sunday night, neither IBM nor Sun have commented on the report or the deal itself.

Read the full The Wall Street Journal story here.

About the Author

Becky Nagel serves as vice president of AI for 1105 Media specializing in developing media, events and training for companies around AI and generative AI technology. She also regularly writes and reports on AI news, and is the founding editor of PureAI.com. She's the author of "ChatGPT Prompt 101 Guide for Business Users" and other popular AI resources with a real-world business perspective. She regularly speaks, writes and develops content around AI, generative AI and other business tech. She has a background in Web technology and B2B enterprise technology journalism.

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