Sun shareholders approve Oracle merger

Sun Microsystems' shareholders voted on Thursday to approve the company's acquisition by Oracle, but not by a wide margin.

Shareholders holding about 62 percent of Sun's stock voted in favor of the deal at a special meeting at Sun's offices in Santa Clara, California, said Sun spokesman Dana Lengkeek. A majority of shares was required to move the deal forward.

Oracle has said it expects to close the deal this summer. It still needs clearance from regulators in the U.S. and Europe, although most observers expect the deal to pass unchallenged.

Oracle announced in April that it planned to acquire Sun for $9.50 per share, or about $7.4 billion in cash. Sun had been struggling to grow its business and maintain a profit for years, and the recession took a heavier toll on the company than on most of its large competitors.

Earlier this Sun said its second-quarter sales were likely to fall by more than a third compared to the same quarter last year, to about $2.6 billion. Oracle said it expects the deal will add to its earnings in the first full year after closing.