Oracle Corp now says that the original scope of its proposed agreement with Nippon Steel Corp has been scaled back, and the cash that it may get from any agreement will be much less than the $200m originally envisaged. The company says that as a result of its improved operating performance and the new $100m bank line of credit it has just received (CI No 1,771) it does not need the Japanese company’s cash to the same extent that it did. It now says that while it and Nippon Steel still want to exploit jointly the rapidly growing Unix and open systems market in Japan, recent discussions on product directions have led it to pursue a modified relationship. It was to have put its Japanese subsidiary into a joint venture with Nippon Steel, but that now looks as if it is right off the agenda.
