IBM Withdraws $7 Billion Offer for Sun

Updating my recent blog regarding IBM’s attempt to purchase Sun Microsystems, the New York Times now reports that IBM has withdrawn its $7 billion offer to acquire the company. Per reports, the talks broke down after IBM lowered its offer by nearly 1.5%, prompting Sun to terminate its exclusive negotiation agreement with IBM. The IBM offer, at $9.40 per share, remains a full 10% above the current market price of Sun stock.

While the real impact of this buyout would have been in the server hardware industry, this also ensures that the Java SDK usage agreements remain unchanged. Word on the street is that Cisco, who recently entered the market for server systems, is among the new potential suitors.