Oracle agrees to buy Sun Microsystems for $7.4 Billion

Oracle Corp. is set to buy Sun Microsystems Inc. for $7.4 billion or $9.50 a share, after Sun’s talks with IBM disintegrated.

The acquisition will give Oracle ownership of the Java programming language, which runs on more than one billion devices around the globe.

After accounting for Sun’s cash and debt, the deal’s value is $5.6 billion. The boards of both companies unanimously approved the transaction, subject to Sun stockholder approval and other conditions. The deal is expected to close this summer.

The two companies have been partners for more than 20 years. Oracle’s Fusion Middleware is built on Sun’s Java software.

Jonathan Schwartz, Sun’s chief executive, said the deal puts Oracle in a position to “solve a broader set of problems than any other company on earth.”