Don’t panic folks, as outlined in the post here, Ellison had set up a plan to sell shares a while ago in order to diversify his individual holdings (my understanding is that part of the proceeds will also be gifted to a medical foundation). The trades fall under the somewhat controversial 10b5-1 rule, which allows executives to set up transactions in advance of possibly learning of material inside information.
The 10b5-1 Dilemma
The controversial issue is that CEOs can set up these planned trades ahead of time, but cancel them (even if they have inside information when the trade is cancelled). Many claim this is an unfair hedge, and the SEC is looking into it. However, in Ellison’s case, I can see how this is probably legitimate. Think about it - he has a large stake in Oracle and wants to diversify his investments, but he knows Oracle needs to grow from an acquisition perspective (anyone heard of Hyperion? Maybe BEA?). To avoid controversy, and to avoid sending a negative message to Wall Street, he plans ahead for the trades so there is no perception of a conflict of interest.