Oracle Playing Sun Hardball: Tech Rumor

NEW YORK (TheStreet) --Oracle(ORCL) is unwilling to relinquish Sun Microsystem's(JAVA) MySQL database to ease the passage of its $7.4 billion acquisition with European regulators, according to The Wall Street Journal, potentially signaling more pressure for Sun shareholders.

The MySQL technology is central to a European probe into Oracle's Sun acquisition, with officials concerned that it could limit choice for software users if it's part of the Oracle portfolio.

A document cited by the Journal, however, says that Oracle does not want to give up MySQL on account of its intense rivalry with Microsoft. The database giant argues that MySQL is particularly popular in the small to medium-sized business market, where it competes more with Microsoft than Oracle. The newspaper cites a questionnaire sent out by the European Commission (EC) to Oracle's clients and competitors as the source of its information.

Oracle has not yet responded to TheStreet's request for comment on this story, although it would not be a shock if CEO Larry Ellison dug his heels in over MySQL. The technology is seen as one of the most attractive parts of the Sun product portfolio, and would undoubtedly extend Oracle's reach into new parts of the market.

The stakes are high, particularly for Sun shareholders, as the beleaguered tech giant anxiously awaits the end of the EC investigation. The fiery Oracle CEO recently complained that the European probe is costing Sun $100 million a month.

"The longer this takes, the more money Sun is going to lose, and that's not good for anybody," he told a Silicon Valley business and technology forum, according to the Financial Times.