US-based software major, Oracle Corporation, on Monday agreed to acquire Nasdaq-listed Sun Microsystems Inc for $7.4 billion at $9.50 per share in an all-cash transaction.

It should be noted that the deal just comes after a week, when IBM's (International Business Machines) plan to buy the maker of Java software fell apart.

Oracle, which has bought a series of software firms including PeopleSoft, estimates that the acquired business will contribute over $1.5 billion to its non-GAAP operating profit in the first year, which will increase to over $2 billion in the second year.

Apart from the company, most market analysts believe that the deal would strengthen Oracle's position against IBM.

However, the deal was subject to approval of Sun shareholders.

Presently, Oracle, which offers a range of business software including databases, customer relationship management programs and collaboration tools, is one of the largest multinational employers in India with more than 25,000 employees.