This past July, Google CEO Eric Schmidt left Apple’s board presumably for the same reason. The cozy relationship between the companies, which increasingly compete in the cellphone and operating systems markets, had led the FTC to question whether close ties between their boards of directors violate antitrust laws. With Schmidt gone from Apple’s board room and Levinson gone from Google’s, it would seem there’s no longer reason for the FTC to do so.

“Art has been a key part of Google’s success these past five years, offering unvarnished advice and vital counsel on every big issue and opportunity Google has faced,” Schmidt said in a statement. “Though he leaves as a member of our Board, Art will always have a special place at Google.”

Though not nearly as special as his place at Apple, where his remaining board seat and true allegiances clearly lie.

UPDATE:Levinson’s resignation from Apple’s board appears to have appeased the FTC. “Google, Apple, and Mr. Levinson should be commended for recognizing that overlapping board members between competing companies raise serious antitrust issues and for their willingness to resolve our concerns without the need for litigation,” FTC chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement. “Beyond this matter, we will continue to monitor companies that share board members and take enforcement actions where appropriate.”

Quite a coup for HP. Andreesen–who co-authored Mosaic, the browser that popularized the World Wide Web–is an icon in Silicon Valley and his expertise is highly sought. In addition to helming his new venture capital firm, Andreessen-Horowitz, Andreesen also serves as chairman of social networking outfit Ning and sits on the boards of eBay (EBAY) and Facebook. HP (HPQ) is lucky to get him, if only because it seems unfathomable that he’d have the time or bandwidth for anything else.

“Marc Andreessen is a software pioneer whose leadership has helped shape the Internet,” an ebullient HP CEO Mark Hurd said in a statement. “Marc’s entrepreneurial background and industry expertise will be a welcome addition to the HP board of directors.”

In a statement issued this afternoon, the FTC applauded the move, but said the two companies are foolish if they think it will simply abandon its inquiry as a result.

“We have been investigating the Google/Apple interlocking directorates issue for some time and commend them for recognizing that sharing directors raises competitive issues, as Google and Apple increasingly compete with each other,” said Bureau of Competition Director Richard Feinstein. “We will continue to investigate remaining interlocking directorates between the companies.”

In other words, Schmidt’s departure was a nice start, but the Commission still worries that Google (GOOG) director Arthur Levinson’s presence on Apple’s (AAPL) board–as well as that of Google advisers Bill Campbell and Al Gore–might lead to conflicts of interest or unfair business practices.

So who’ll be the next to leave: Levinson or Gore?

Under the terms of the deal, the retailer will acquire all outstanding Zappos shares in exchange for roughly 10 million shares of Amazon common stock, valued at about $807 million, and some $40 million in cash and restricted stock. Amazon (AMZN) says the deal should be completed by fall.

“This morning, our board approved and we signed what’s known as a ‘definitive agreement,’ in which all of the existing shareholders and investors of Zappos (there are over 100) will be exchanging their Zappos stock for Amazon stock,” Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh said in a post to the company blog. “Once the exchange is done, Amazon will become the only shareholder of Zappos stock….

“We think that there is a huge opportunity for us to really accelerate the growth of the Zappos brand and culture,” Hsieh continued, “and we believe that Amazon is the best partner to help us get there faster. Amazon supports us in continuing to grow our vision as an independent entity, under the Zappos brand and with our unique culture.”

“Zappos is a customer focused company,” said Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos in a statement. “We see great opportunities for both companies to learn from each other and create even better experiences for our customers.”

If the shoe fits, right?

Below, Bezos announces the acquisition in person.

The Federal Trade Commission may worry about the ties between the Google (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL) boards, but Google CEO Eric Schmidt clearly doesn’t share its concern. “I don’t think Google sees Apple as a primary competitor,” he said during a luncheon with reporters ahead of the company’s annual shareholder meeting. “We encourage people to be on other companies’ boards. In my case, if there are issues that are competitive I would recuse myself. I think it’s been well established that I recuse myself in areas of the iPhone.”

Asked directly if he would resign from Apple’s board in the face of FTC scrutiny, Schmidt bristled–”Why would you ask that question?”–and then said simply, “It hasn’t crossed my mind.”

“Eric is obviously doing a terrific job as CEO of Google, and we look forward to his contributions as a member of Apple’s board of directors. Like Apple, Google is very focused on innovation and we think Eric’s insights and experience will be very valuable in helping to guide Apple in the years ahead.”

–Apple CEO Steve Jobs, Aug. 2006

“Apple is one of the companies in the world that I most admire. I’m really looking forward to working with Steve and Apple’s board to help with all of the amazing things Apple is doing.”

–Google CEO Eric Schmidt, Aug. 2006

He had a good run of it, but Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s stint as an Apple director may be coming to an end.

Now that the Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether the close ties between Apple’s and Google’s boards of directors violate antitrust laws, Schmidt’s seat on the former’s board, which he has held since August 2006, seems more trouble than its worth.

People briefed on the matter tell the New York Times that the FTC is concerned that Schmidt’s presence on Apple’s board–as well as that of Google director Arthur Levinson and Google advisers Bill Campbell and Al Gore–might lead to the conflicts of interest or unfair business practices. And that seems a reasonable concern; certainly those sorts of things sometimes occur when a coterie of people hold influence over several major firms simultaneously.

While Google (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL) compete in a number of areas–browsers and mobile operating systems–the two have also worked together closely to bring a number of Google services to the iPhone. They also share a common enemy in Microsoft (MSFT).

So it’s not surprising to hear that the FTC is raising an eyebrow over the cozy relationship between the companies–especially, given its previous interest in Google and the opinions of U.S. antitrust chief Christine Varney, who recently described the company as a monopolist.

Nor will it be surprising when Schmidt resigns from Apple’s board, if this inquiry goes further. That’s typically what happens in these situations when things start heading toward a longer investigation.

So, given the amount of antitrust scrutiny currently leveled at Google, it’s almost certainly what will happen here.

Shares in the company dropped more than 27 percent percent to $6.48 in premarket trading following reports that Sun’s board rejected a formal acquisition offer by IBM (IBM). After weeks of negotiations, the two companies were thought to be finalizing a deal for about $7 billion. But IBM lowered its offer over the weekend and then withdrew it after Sun balked at the price and terms of the sale. IBM is believed to have originally offered $10 and $11 a share for Sun, but subsequently reduced that bid to $9.40 a share, which was a bit too low for the fading company’s taste.

Seems Sun (JAVA) has quite a bit more in common with Yahoo (YHOO), which notoriously balked at a $44 billion buyout offer from Microsoft (MSFT) last year, than you’d think.

Whether the deal is dead is unclear, but things certainly aren’t looking good–for future negotiations and for Sun, as Sanford Bernstein & Co. analyst Toni Sacconaghi suggested in a research note to clients this morning. “While press reports suggest that the fall-out in discussions may be attributable to brinkmanship, we do think that a collapse in the talks has considerably weakened Sun’s hand, as we see no other likely suitors, and a considerably higher potential for weakened (fiscal year third quarter) results,” he wrote. “… Given the size of the premium and the fact that Sun’s board has presided over a decline in the company’s stock price over the last eight years from over $250/share to less than $5 prior to the acquisition talks being leaked, we believe that (Sun Microsystems) is likely to face significant shareholder unrest, similar to what occurred when Yahoo declined Microsoft’s offer.”

Which means things are about to get ugly–really ugly–for Sun, which doesn’t appear to have any other likely suitors and will almost certainly see its third-quarter results weakened by the doubt it has just instilled in potential customers.

Searing claims. Unfortunately for Save Sirius and its founder Michael Hartleib, they’re far too lacking in specificity for a court to take them seriously. “The majority of Mr. Hartleib’s arguments to show the futility of making a demand on the current Sirius board are based on generalized, not specific allegations,” Judge Cormac J. Carney wrote in an order dismissing the suit. “Although the complaint identifies alleged fraud and wrongdoing committed by Defendants, it does not state how each specific Sirius director was responsible for those actions.”

Hartleib, for his part, was unfazed by the dismissal. “The case is not over at all,” he said. “We have twenty days to resubmit, and we shall.”

As of this writing SIRI was trading at $.15, about double its 52-week low.

Look out Jerry Yang, Carl Icahn now has one fewer distraction as he prepares to propose his slate of dissident board nominees at Yahoo’s Aug. 1 shareholder meeting.

At its own shareholder meeting yesterday, Biogen (BIIB) investors voted to support management’s preferred board candidates and to reject a slate of directors proposed by Icahn, who’s been squabbling with the company’s leadership in call-and-response SEC filings since its failed effort to sell Biogen last year. With 4% of Biogen’s stock, Icahn had been keen on a sale and accused its board of screwing things up when one didn’t occur.

Biogen shareholders obviously didn’t see things that way and seem to have dealt Icahn a knockout blow. “I don’t think there’s any way in which outside observers could fairly criticize Biogen management for the way they handled the sale process,” said Eric Schmidt, an analyst with Cowen in New York. “They can’t be faulted or praised. They have done the best they can with the cards they were dealt.”

Meanwhile, the slate of dissident directors Icahn’s put together for Yahoo (YHOO) continues to attract support. Said one Yahoo shareholder, “He should go ahead. It’s an indicator of the widespread dissatisfaction of shareholders with Yahoo’s management and the board. If nothing else, (it’s) to keep them honest and nobody’s really sure if Microsoft (MSFT) is completely out of the picture.”