Oracle, one of the world's largest software companies by market capitalization, completed its acquisition of Sun Microsystems in 2010.
Oracle announced the deal in April 2009 and completed it in January 2010 after receiving regulatory approval. The acquisition brought Sun’s hardware business, Java programming language, Solaris operating system, and MySQL database into Oracle’s portfolio.
The transaction was strategically important because Oracle had traditionally been known primarily for database software and enterprise applications. Sun gave it control over both software and the computer systems on which that software could run. Oracle described the combination as a way to offer integrated systems for business customers.
The deal also attracted attention because of Java’s importance to the technology industry. Java had been created at Sun and was widely used in enterprise software, web services, and Android-related development. Oracle’s later copyright and patent litigation involving Google’s use of Java APIs became one of the best-known legal disputes connected with the acquisition.