Sun Microsystems Was Shopped Around to Potential Buyers for Months

by Sam Dean - Mar. 26, 2009Comments (2)

There are quite a few juicy tidbits, updates, and high-profile opinions starting to emerge about the probable IBM acquisition of Sun Microsystems. It turns out that Sun was seeking a buyer and being actively shopped around to tech companies for months before the IBM news, as Intel CEO Paul Otellini has reportedly confirmed. "I can tell you that Sun was shopped around the valley and around the world in the last few months," he said, during a Q&A session that was revealed in a regulatory filing, according to TheStreet.com. "A lot of companies got calls or visits on buying some or all the assets of the company." Meanwhile, it looks like any news of the acquisition may extend into next week.┬а

The news that Sun was actively seeking a buyer for months illustrates that CEO Jonathan Schwartz and company were putting shareholders ahead of other concerns, as Sun's stock continued to dive to levels about even with the amount of cash the company has. For that, the Sun management team and board deserve praise, even though I remain somewhat worried about how much of Sun's open source strategy IBM will protect and preserve.

According to many reports, IBM is still doing its due diligence--checking into Sun's many contracts, and probably guaging the interest in Sun's offerings that companies in the financial services industry may still have. Those companies have been strong backers of Sun over the years. I suspect news of the acquisition will arrive next week, and many are waiting to see what kind of price IBM might pay. Estimates range from $6.5 billion or so to over $9 billion.

┬аMeanwhile, Dell Computer CEO Michael Dell says an IBM acquisition of Sun would represent an opportunity for Dell to gain ground in the server market, due to confusion over Sun's brands and positioning. Intel's Paul Otellini has also provided his answer to why he thinks a Sun deal will take place: "I think cheap Sun priceтАФa low price spurred a lot of interest," he is quoted in a filing as having said.