Sun Microsystems announced Wednesday that it is buying MySQL AB, a major provider of open source database solutions. The total price, including $800 million cash and an assumption of about $200 million in options, is about $1 billion.
The Santa Clara, Calif.-based company said in a statement that its purchase accelerates its position in enterprise solutions “to now include the $15 billion database market,” and reaffirms its role as the largest commercial open source contributor.
100 Million Copies Downloaded
The MySQL database, the most popular open source database software, is widely used by millions of customers globally, with more than 100 million copies downloaded and 50,000 copies downloaded each day. Although many small businesses and nonprofit organizations use MySQL, both Sun and MySQL noted that it is also used in a variety of high-volume environments, including Facebook, Google, Nokia, China Mobile, Yahoo, Alcatel-Lucent, YouTube and others. The flagship product, MySQL Enterprise, includes a set of production-tested software, monitoring tools and support services.
The acquisition by Sun and its integration into the company’s portfolio “will greatly extend the commercial appeal of MySQL’s offerings and improve its value proposition with the addition of Sun’s global services organization,” the company said, including new distribution through Sun’s OEM relationships with Intel, IBM, Dell and others.
“MySQL’s employees and culture, along with its near ubiquity across the Web,” said Sun CEO and President Jonathan Schwartz in a statement, “make it an ideal fit with Sun’s open approach to network innovation.”
In announcing the acquisition, MySQL CEO Marten Mickos agreed that Sun’s culture complements his company’s, because it shares the ideals of “software freedom, online innovation, and community and partner participation.” Mickos will join Sun’s senior executive team.
The ‘M’ in LAMP
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