EU warns Oracle over Sun deal

BRUSSELS: Europe's antitrust chief told the president of Oracle Corp on Wednesday that the tech giant had so far failed to soothe concerns that its plan to buy Sun Microsystems may be anti-competitive.

European Union Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes made the comment in a meeting with Oracle President Safra Catz in Brussels, Kroes' spokesman Jonathan Todd said.

"Commissioner Kroes expressed her disappointment that Oracle had failed to produce, despite repeated requests, either hard evidence that there were no competition problems or, alternatively, proposals for a remedy to the competition problems identified by the (European) Commission," Todd said.

The European Commission, which polices competition in the 27-country EU, is reviewing the world No. 2 software maker's planned $7 billion takeover of Sun, with a decision expected by Jan. 19 on whether to approve the deal.

The Commission said last month it was concerned the acquisition could hinder competition in the database market and it wanted to make sure alternatives remained available to users.

Kroes told Catz the regulator was willing to move quickly to reach a final decision but it was up to Oracle to find a solution, Todd said.