Shortly after European regulators opened an antitrust probe into Oracle's pending acquisition of Sun Microsystems, SAP CEO Léo Apotheker wrote Oracle CEO Larry Ellison, asking for a meeting to discuss the merger and "other open issues" between the vendors, according to a Wall Street Journal editorial published late Thursday.
SAP spokesman James Dever confirmed on Friday that Apotheker had written Ellison "seeking a dialogue," but declined to provide a copy of the letter.
[ The EU's probe into the Oracle-Sun deal has been a rocky one. Last month, the EU chided Oracle for a "lack of cooperation," which has caused Oracle to dig in its heels and prepare for a fight. | Discover what's new in business applications with InfoWorld's Technology: Applications newsletter and Killer Apps blog. ]
The letter was sent Sept. 15 and consisted of the following brief statement, according to the Journal: "As you know, we have significant concerns about Oracle's proposed takeover of Sun. We renew our invitation to meet to attempt to resolve our concerns and other open issues between our companies. Please let us know if and when you would like to meet."
The WSJ's editorial referred to speculation that the European Commission is blocking the Sun acquisition due to lobbying efforts by SAP. It also noted that one major "open issue" between the companies is the intellectual property lawsuit Oracle filed against SAP in connection with TomorrowNow, a now-shuttered subsidiary of SAP that provided third-party support for Oracle applications. Oracle has said its damages could top $1 billion.
Meanwhile, the timing of Apotheker's letter implies that he "either believed, or wanted Oracle to believe, that he could smooth the merger review if he so desired," the editorial alleged.
The insinuations raised by the WSJ are baseless, according to Dever. "I disagree with the assumptions and inferences that were made," he said. "It certainly overstates what SAP can and is able to do."
"The fact is we have a deep relationship with Oracle that goes beyond a lawsuit," including many mutual customers, Dever added. "We're partners as well as competitors."
An Oracle spokeswoman didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Meanwhile, the European Commission is reportedly planning to issue a formal "statement of objections" against the merger. If that happens, Oracle plans to mount a vigorous offensive campaign with the aid of senior U.S. political officials, IDG News Service reported this week.
This whitepaper explains the terminology and concepts behind Data Replication technologies and establishes some sizing rules through worked examples. Learn the new paradigm in disaster tolerance—protect data anywhere.
Download now »
Server virtualization is a popular option for dealing with mounting datacenter costs. Another equally promising approach is the use of an Application Delivery Controller. Citrix NetScaler provides a low-cost way for organizations to reduce their server count and accrue cost savings from a reduction in space, cooling, power and personnel.
Download now »
The emergence of WLANs has created a new breed of security threats to enterprise networks.
Included in HP ProCurve WLAN solutions is security technology that alleviates threats from WLANs through:
* Monitoring wireless activity inside and out of the enterprise
* Classifying WLAN transmissions into harmful and harmless
* Preventing transmissions that pose a security threat to the enterprise network
* Locating participating devices for physical remediation
Effectively address data protection challenges, implementing solutions that help store and protect business–critical data while cutting costs and improving efficiency and reliability.
Download now »
Sign up to receive InfoWorld Resource Alerts
Like any valuable resource, IT is a terrible thing to waste. But by applying the same lean techniques that have been used to streamline manufacturing processes, IT departments can reduce costs, improve performance and better manage resources.
Download now! »
Stephen Elliot, vice president of strategy for CA's Infrastructure Management and Data Center Automation business unit, explains why difficult economic times drive the need for simplified management capabilities and advanced automation tools.
Listen now! »
According to a recent study CA conducted with 300 CIOs and top IT executives, 64 percent of respondents say they've already invested in virtualization, and the other 36 percent reported that they plan to invest in virtualization.
Download now! »
In this video learn about process automation in a virtualized world. How CA and VMware are enabling enterprise datacenter automation.
View now! »
18 Recommendations
