will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Oracle. Upon the consummation of the merger, each share of Sun common stock will be converted into the right to receive $9.50 in cash. In addition, options to acquire Sun common stock, Sun restricted stock unit awards and other equity-based awards denominated in shares of Sun common stock outstanding immediately prior to the consummation of the merger will generally be converted into options, restricted stock unit awards or other equity-based awards, as the case may be, denominated in shares of Oracle common stock based on formulas contained in the Merger Agreement. The estimated total purchase price of Sun is approximately $7.4 billion. This transaction is subject to Sun stockholder approval, regulatory clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 and the applicable merger control laws of the European Commission and other jurisdictions, and other customary closing conditions.

 

We believe our acquisition program supports our long-term strategic direction, strengthens our competitive position, expands our customer base, provides greater scale to accelerate innovation, grows our revenues and earnings, and increases stockholder value. We expect to continue to acquire companies, products, services and technologies. See Note 2 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information related to our recent acquisitions.

 

We believe we can fund our pending and future acquisitions with our internally available cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, cash generated from operations, amounts available under our existing debt capacity, additional borrowings or from the issuance of additional securities. We estimate the financial impact of any potential acquisition with regard to earnings, operating margin, cash flow and return on invested capital targets before deciding to move forward with an acquisition.

 

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

 

Our consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). These accounting principles require us to make certain estimates, judgments and assumptions. We believe that the estimates, judgments and assumptions upon which we rely are reasonable based upon information available to us at the time that these estimates, judgments and assumptions are made. These estimates, judgments and assumptions can affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements as well as the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the periods presented. To the extent there are material differences between these estimates, judgments or assumptions and actual results, our financial statements will be affected. The accounting policies that reflect our more significant estimates, judgments and assumptions and which we believe are the most critical to aid in fully understanding and evaluating our reported financial results include the following:

 

	• 	Revenue Recognition

	• 	Business Combinations

	• 	Goodwill and Intangible Assets—Impairment Assessments

	• 	Accounting for Income Taxes

	• 	Legal and Other