Storage and server vendor Sun Microsystems could be on the brink of being acquired by IBM, according to The Wall Street Journal this morning.

According to WSJ sources, Big Blue is in early negotiations to purchase the vendor for at least $6.5bn (£4.7bn) in cash, but cautioned that talks could yet fall through. These same sources added that the deal could be wrapped up as early as next week.

The WSJ claimed IBM acquiring Sun is a “combination that would bolster IBM's heft on the Internet, in software and in finance and telecommunications markets.”

In November the Silicon Valley vendor announced job cuts of up to 6,000 to help drive down annual costs.

Sun claimed a shift in focus towards its open source platforms and hoped the restructure would offer annual cost savings of between $700m and $800m (£536m).
In May further job cuts were announced with 2,500 axed after a revenue decline and a net loss of $34m during 2008's third quarter.