Oracle Gets More Time to Swallow Sun

REDWOOD SHORES, Calif. (TheStreet -- Oracle(ORCL Quote) has received an extension from the European Union as the database giant attempts to complete its controversial acquisition of Sun(JAVA Quote).

EU officials have extended the deadline for their antitrust review of the $7.4 billion deal from Jan. 19 until Jan. 27, according to press reports.

The European Commission, which launched the probe into the merger, said the software firm had asked for the extension "in order to have the opportunity to further develop its arguments in response to the Commission's concerns."

Shares of both companies dipped in early trading on Friday. Oracle's stock slipped 12 cents, or 0.54%, to $22.27 and Sun's shares fell 5 cents, or 0.58%, to $8.55, mirroring the broader decline in tech stocks that saw the Nasdaq lose 0.6%.

Already approved by Sun shareholders and regulators on this side of the Atlantic, Oracle has been duking it out with the European Commission for the last few months. The big stumbling block is Sun's MySQL database technology.

MySQL, which competes with Microsoft's(MSFT Quote) SQL and IBM(IBM Quote)'s DB2 is one of the jewels in Sun's crown. The technology, however, also features in free software projects such as WordPress, prompting concern that the deal could have widespread ramifications for the broader tech sector.

Oracle has even become embroiled in a war of words with European regulators after the Commission issued a formal objection to the Sun acquisition.

Set against this backdrop, the deadline extension could underline Oracle's unwillingness to give up on Sun, ensuring that its lawyers have enough time to fend off European concerns and make a water-tight case. Critics, however, suggest that Larry Ellison's firm is struggling to make a convincing argument.