Sun Microsystems Inc. may have difficulty finding a new suitor after talks with International Business Machines Corp. broke down, analysts and investors said.
Hewlett-Packard Co., which held merger talks with Sun last year, has no plans to return to the negotiating table, said a person familiar with the situation. Cisco Systems Inc. and Dell Inc., also mentioned as possible acquirers, are unlikely to bid, said Bill Kreher, an analyst at Edward Jones & Co.
“Others have already passed over Sun — given that, we’re unsure who would step up to the plate,” Kreher, who is based in St. Louis, said in an interview. “We are unsure if the company can execute a successful turnaround on its own. Their future is very uncertain.”
Chief executive Jonathan Schwartz, a leading advocate for selling Sun to IBM, according to people close to the deal, has been struggling to maintain earnings. Sun is being pummeled by the recession as customers cut back purchases of computer servers used to run websites and networks. Sun’s sales have slowed for four straight quarters.
