Though the headline might read like an April Fool's prank, it's not: Palm has announced a plan to sell a 25 percent stake in the company to Elevation Partners, the private equity firm co-founded by none other than U2 frontman Bono. Bono and friends will pay $325 million for that slice of the pie, a sum which Palm will use to fund reorganization efforts. What's more, following the sale, the company plans to bring two high-profile ex-Apple executives on board: Jon Rubinstein former head of hardware at Apple (known best for his involvement in the design of the iPod and iMac), will head up product development at Palm while finger-pointing former Apple CFO Fred Anderson [1] will join the board of directors. If shareholders approve the deal, current Chairman Eric Benhamou, and board director D. Scott Mercer would step down from their positions at Palm. "As a result of this transaction, we will strengthen the Palm leadership team and create a more effective capital structure, which puts us in a great position to attract new talent, significantly strengthen our execution capabilities, and deliver long-term shareholder value," said Ed Colligan, Palm president and CEO. While this isn't the buyout that some have been expecting [2], an infusion of cash and new blood could be just what Palm needs to stage a turnaround.

For more on the deal:
- see this press release [3]