Sun Microsystems Rejects IBM Acquisition Offer

Just a few days ago, we reported about a possible acquisition of Sun Microsystems by IBM. On Monday, The Wall Street Journal announced though that "Sun's board rejected a formal acquisition offer by IBM on Saturday, sending a notice terminating Sun's agreement to negotiate exclusively with IBM. IBM on Sunday withdrew its offer to buy Sun, said a person informed about the situation.

Why Sun rejected the offer remains a mystery so far, as they did not release any kind of statement or information regarding their decision. Especially, since IBM offered about twice the value per share, as Sun was traded for, compared to March when the talks had started. Apparently Sun had already approached 20 other possible companies which all rejected or at least were unwilling to take any risk by buying Sun Microsystems.

This means that should these takeover talks completely collapse, Sun would have to face a very bumpy road ahead, though:

"Toni Sacconaghi, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein, said the Sun "board is going to have a lot of explaining to do if they turned down an offer of $9.40 a share," noting Sun's recent stock lows and the deteriorating outlook for tech spending. He added that the public disclosure of the talks with IBM "casts uncertainty among customers about Sun's future."