Larry Ellison pulls $7.5 billion Oracle share-sale plan amid EU timing concerns

Larry Ellison, Oracle’s executive chair and chief technology officer, has withdrawn a Rule 10b5-1 plan that would have permitted the sale of up to 50 million Oracle shares, a transaction valued at roughly $7.5 billion after a recent 16% price drop. The plan, announced on June 22, originally covered shares worth about $8.75 billion and was set to remain active until October 24. European market-abuse regulations, which bar insiders from trading in the 30 days preceding financial disclosures, sparked criticism of the plan’s timing, especially as Oracle reported shrinking gross margins and raised its job-cut cost estimate to $2.8 billion.

Oracle confirmed that no shares were sold under the arrangement and that Ellison has no further sale plans. The episode underscores the divergent regulatory landscapes: U.S. rules allow pre-arranged sales via 10b5-1 plans, while the EU closes the trading window entirely. Ellison still controls about 40% of Oracle, and even selling the full allotment would leave him with roughly 1.1 billion shares.