EU delays Oracle-Sun deal, probing database market

Oracle Corp. figured its $7.4 billion buyout for Sun Microsystems Inc. could skate through antitrust scrutiny, folding Sun into a technology powerhouse when Sun badly needs the lifeline. Both companies will have to wait.

European Union regulators applied the brakes Thursday, launching a formal antitrust probe that shatters Oracle’s goal of completing the acquisition this summer. The U.S. Department of Justice has already approved the deal.