IBM is in talks to buy Sun Microsystems for $7 billion. This would turn IBM into a one-stop shop when it comes to Unix server sales, a fairly lucrative niche in this cloud-happy world.
I.B.M. is offering $9.50 a share, down from a bid of $10 a share, said people familiar with the discussions who were not authorized to speak publicly. The new agreement would restrict I.B.M.’s ability to walk away from the deal, these people said.
My favorite memory of Sun is flying from Moscow to Warsaw back in 1999 and two guys from Texas talking about implementing web servers in Germany or something. One would say something like “They want an e-store, maybe.” and the other guy would say “Ok, we’ll get a Sun box in there.” Everything – website, ecommerce, auction site – “We’ll get a Sun box in there.”