Sun board to discuss next steps following collapse of IBM talks
Wednesday, April 8, 2009, 7:35am MDT Denver Business Journal - by Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal
Sun Microsystems Inc.'s directors reportedly were to meet Wednesday to talk about what to do now that acquisition talks with International Business Machines Corp. have collapsed. Sun and IBM are two of the Denver area's largest tech employers. Analysts had said a merger of the two might lead to additional layoffs in Colorado, where the two companies are already are cutting staff.
Bloomberg News said it was told of the meeting by a person it said was familiar with the matter but didn't name. Talks unraveled after Santa Clara, Calif.-based Sun's (NASDAQ: JAVA) board unanimously rejected a $7 billion offer on Saturday which IBM (NYSE: IBM) then withdrew on Sunday.
Bloomberg said Chairman Scott McNealy led a minority that was opposed to the deal, while CEO Jonathan Schwartz led a group that favored it. Sun stock fell 4.3 percent to close at $6.28 Tuesday after sinking 23 percent in Monday trading.
Sun issued a statement on Tuesday, saying it is “committed to its leadership team, growth strategy and building value for its shareholders." It also announced that its top chip designer, Marc Tremblay, has resigned and will be replaced by co-Chief Technology Officer Rick Hetherington.
