Oracle gets go-ahead for Sun acquisition

The US Justice Department has given its approval for business software firm Oracle to take over Sun Microsystems.┬á  The $7.4 billion deal was agreed by both companies in April but needs approval from both the US Justice Department and the European Commission before it can be concluded. ┬á It is hoped that the European Commission approval will come through by early September. Oracle is preparing to close the deal as soon as clearance is given from Brussels.┬á Redwood City, California-based Oracle is said to be seeking to strengthen its position against IBM, which was also in the running to acquire Sun.  Oracle has said the acquisition of Sun would transform the IT industry.┬á Santa Clara, California-based Sun is the developer of the Java programming language. It is also the fourth-largest maker of computer servers but has been facing increasing competition from companies such as IBM and Dell.┬á SunÔÇÖs shareholders approved the deal in July.┬á The takeover had originally been held up because of questions over licensing Java, which is used in billions of devices across the world.┬á Sun employs around 33,000 people, and Oracle about 86,000. ┬á * ┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á*┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *