NYT: Microsoft and Sun End Long Acrimony in Surprise Accord

Microsoft and Sun End Long Acrimony in Surprise Accord
By STEVE LOHR

Published: April 3, 2004


Microsoft and Sun Microsystems announced a surprising armistice yesterday, ending years of public acrimony between Scott McNealy, Sun's chief executive and the leader of the anti-Microsoft camp in Silicon Valley, and the world's largest software company.

Under the agreement, Microsoft will pay Sun, its longtime rival, a total of $1.6 billion to settle Sun's private antitrust suit against Microsoft and to resolve patent claims. The pact also includes a 10-year commitment by the two companies to work closely together, share technology and license each other's intellectual property.

In a separate announcement yesterday, Sun said it would lay off 3,300 employees, or 9 percent of its work force. Sun also said that it would report a loss of $750 million to $810 million for the quarter ended in March. That is bigger than Wall Street had expected.

Far more significant than any element of the pact is the striking change of heart and the circumstances that pushed Sun and Microsoft toward a truce....


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/03/business/03SUN.html