When Oracle Corp.(ORCL) acknowledged two weeks ago that the U.S. Justice Department was extending an antitrust review of its planned merger with Sun Microsystems Inc. (JAVA), the software giant maintained the deal would still close by the end of August.
But pressing through a second-request investigation in such an abbreviated time frame would buck the odds, according to Justice Department statistics and antitrust experts, even as Sun's financial results as an independent entity skid to surprising lows. Sun will hold a special shareholder meeting on Thursday, where it is expected to receive approval to accept Oracle's $5.6 billion buyout bid.