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May 17, 2008 12:56:52 AM CDT

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Economic Worries Propel Silicon Valley Deals  

Posted Jan 17, 08 12:59 PM CST in Technology,  Business    Editor's Choice

(newser) – Recent acquisitions by Sun Microsystems and Oracle could be the opening round of new Silicon Valley deal-making, the Wall Street Journal reports, as tech companies worried about a US economic slowdown seek to strengthen their positions. Smaller companies struggling to stay afloat are tempting targets; bigger fish also want to invest in building web-based software and services—a still-growing sector.

Oracle, in buying BEA, expands its business to compete better with IBM in the middleware market. Sun, which generally is focused on hardware, is using its purchase of MySQL as a relatively safe foray into the software market. "We have seen no cessation of interest in the Internet among consumers and businesses looking for cost reductions and efficiency," Sun's CEO said.

Source Wall Street Journal

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Economic Worries Propel Silicon Valley Deals
Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz is silhouetted as he gives a keynote address at Oracle Open World conference in San Francisco in this Oct. 25, 2006 file photo.   (Associated Press)
Economic Worries Propel Silicon Valley Deals
The exterior of BEA headquarters in San Jose, Calif., is seen in this Oct 26, 2007 photo. Business software maker Oracle Corp. on Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008 said it agreed to buy BEA Systems Inc. for about...   (Associated Press)
Economic Worries Propel Silicon Valley Deals
Oracle signs are shown at the National Retail Federation convention on Tuesday, January 15, 2008 in New York. Oracle Corp. said Wednesday it agreed to buy BEA Systems Inc. for about $7.85 billion, a...   (Associated Press)
Economic Worries Propel Silicon Valley Deals
The exterior of the Oracle Corp. headquarters in Redwood City, Calif. is seen Sept. 19, 2007.   (Associated Press)
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mergers and acquisitions  • acquisitions  • Silicon Valley  • IBM  • Oracle  • BEA Systems  • Sun Microsystems  • MySQL


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