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MySQL Founder says Oracle should sell MySQL

By Sean Michael Kerner on October 19, 2009 6:08 PM

From the 'Flushing $1 Billion Down the Drain' files:

MySQL founder Monty Widenius has a solution for Oracle to get EU approval on its Sun acquistion: Sell MySQL.

Considering how long it is taking Oracle to get approvals on its acquisition of Sun, it might not be a bad idea in my opinion. The EU is holding up the Oracle/Sun deal on worries about competitive concerns surrounding the MySQL database.

According to a press release that Widenius posted to his blog, he believes that, "...the EU's antitrust regulator is 'absolutely right to be concerned' and called on Oracle to be constructive and commit to sell MySQL to a suitable third party, enabling an instant solution instead of letting Sun suffer much longer."

Considering that Widenius is no longer part of Sun and has setup his own MySQL related operation, Widenius has a lot to gain from a divested MySQL. With Oracle at the helm, Widenius' influence might not be as strong (as a third party) as it could potentially become under different ownership.

Then again, I suppose it has a lot to do with who ends up picking up the pieces.

At at an acquisition price to Sun of $1 Billion, MySQL is not a cheaply acquired asset. There are few (if any) companies that I can name that would ever pay that amount for MySQL today. Sure the company has value, but it's just not worth $1 Billion.

Taking a step back, would Oracle ownership actually inhibit MySQL?

After all MySQL is a very different type of database than Oracle and often is used in different use cases. In many respects, MySQL can be a complementary database as opposed to a competitive database with Oracle.

With time passing and Oracle potentially losing more money on its Sun acquisition every day, it is clear to me that something must give. Oracle/Sun must demonstrate to the EU that the competition concerns are unwarranted - or listen to Widenius and sell MySQL.

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