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Re:Sun Buys MySQL by runningskull on Wednesday January 16, 2008 @10:34AM (#99270)
Facebook = $15 billion. MySQL = $1 billion?

The world is a messed up place.

Re:Sun Buys MySQL by dpapathanasiou on Wednesday January 16, 2008 @04:12PM (#99449)
I'm not sure the MySQL figure is too high.

Compared to Oracle's market cap of $113 billion, MySQL is a relative bargain.

And while their business models are different, Sun is in a position to make a major dent in Oracle's client base.

With Sun behind them, it's easier for big enterprise customers to go along with MySQL instead of Oracle; support costs for using MySQL are also cheaper.

The net effect will be more profits for Sun overall.

Re:Sun Buys MySQL by idea on Wednesday January 16, 2008 @11:53AM (#99322)
Facebook is overvalued. But the numbers 1 and 2 in a market are much more valuable than the rest. If you buy number 1 you are the market leader and if you buy the runner up you can fight for market share or buy some smaller players later on. The number 3 is only interesting if the company can quickly gain a lot of market share. Often those companies are sold off again if that does not happen.
Re:Sun Buys MySQL by mattmaroon on Wednesday January 16, 2008 @01:53PM (#99380)
Facebook also has a much better revenue model than providing support for open source software.
Re:Sun Buys MySQL by abc3 on Wednesday January 16, 2008 @05:27PM (#99495)
Both of the above comments refer to cliches that have been repeated so often that it's tempting to believe them.

We read all the time about number 1 or number 2, but companies survive or die based on profitability and fiscal responsibility, not market position.

Also, revenue model != revenue or, more importantly, earnings. And whether a company has a good revenue model is at best peripherally related to how accurately it's valued.

Re:Sun Buys MySQL by sanj on Wednesday January 16, 2008 @05:24PM (#99491)
How do you figure? $3/user/year doesn't knock my socks off.
Re:Sun Buys MySQL by gleb on Wednesday January 16, 2008 @05:45PM (#99507)
You are worth your asking price times the probability of getting it. Facebook is not worth $15 bil, not now anyway.