UPDATE 1-Sun Micro says may have violated U.S. bribery law

Fri May 8, 2009 8:00pm BST

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*Sun says may have broken law on bribing foreign officials

*Sun says resolution of matter could hurt business results

*Oracle says aware of matter before agreeing to buy Sun (Adds Oracle comment)

BOSTON, May 8 (Reuters) - Sun Microsystems Inc JAVA.O, a hardware maker that Oracle Corp (ORCL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) is buying for more than $7 billion, may have broken a U.S. law prohibiting companies from bribing foreign officials, Sun said in a regulatory filing on Friday.

"We have identified potential violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the resolution of which could possibly have a material effect on our business," Sun said in a 10-Q filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Oracle spokeswoman Deborah Hellinger said Oracle was aware of the matter before it agreed to buy Sun.

Sun spokesman Shawn Dainas said he could not immediately elaborate on the 10-Q filing.

Potential penalties could include fines, criminal sanctions and a ban from doing business with the U.S. federal government, Sun said. The federal government is one of Sun's biggest customers. Continued...