VC / M&A

Symantec buys into online storage

Paul Mah — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 10:11:11 -0400

Symantec has quietly paid an estimated $123 million for privately-held online storage firm SwapDrive. The size of this deal eclipsed the $75 million that storage giant EMC paid for rival Mozy last September. Neither company issued a press release, but Symantec has grudgingly confirmed that the deal closed on June 6.

According to TechCrunch, SwapDrive is adding 13,000 new customers a day, with services sold by more than 60 partners, including luminaries such as Iomega, Dell, Intuit and even Best Buy. A Symantec spokesperson says that this acquisition is purely a move to get into the consumer online backup market. It's apparent that Symantec is feeling the heat too quickly to boast its footprint in this important niche.

For more on the acquisition of SwapDrive by Symantec:
- check out this The Register article

Lawsuit tries to block HP-EDS merger

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 06:59:59 -0400

There are many questions regarding the announced sale of EDS to HP, including what it means for their respective tech staffs, the direction of the new merged company and the new shape of global IT services landscape. But some people are trying to put a stop to this marriage before it is even consummated.

The Utah-based Intermountain Ironworkers Trust Fund has filed suit alleging the sale is unfair to EDS shareholders. A similar suit by an EDS shareholder has been filed in Delaware. It remains unclear how the lawsuits will develop or whether they will slow or impact the merger in any way.

For more on this merger:
- see this silicon.com article

HP in talks to buy EDS

Paul Mah — Tue, 13 May 2008 06:44:04 -0400

Hewlett Packard is in talks to acquire Electronic Data Systems (EDS) Corp. for about $13 billion, setting the stage to make HP the world's second largest provider of technology services behind IBM. Not only will the combined company allow for lower overheads, HP also will be better positioned to push its servers to clients currently under EDS.

Some analysts think that it's a great move for HP, though there are also concerns that such a merger could trigger a similar run within the tech industry. An IBM spokesperson summed it up best with the observation that "integrating services companies is difficult," underscoring that a successful merger is not necessarily a given, even if a merger gets the go-ahead.

For more on HP's efforts to acquire EDS:
- check out this Wall Street Journal article

Microsoft and Yahoo: What now?

Mehan Jayasuriya — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:31:45 -0400

It sure feels like the Microsoft-Yahoo negotiations have been going on forever, but judging by the looks of it, it seems like there isn't going to be a Microhoo to speak of after all. Sure, Yahoo CEO Jerry Yang has been making some interesting allusions in the press following the tumble that his company's stock price has experienced ("We were totally willing to do a transaction, and they walked away," he told the Financial Times) but despite his urgings that he was open to a deal, it seems that there won't be one. So, what now? According to Ars Technica, a deal of another sort. "Having failed to deliver Jerry Yang's proverbial head on a silver platter and bringing Yahoo under his domain, [Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer] needs to show his own shareholders that the whole mating dance wasn't just wasted time and money while management could have been doing something better with its talents and assets," Ars writes. "So I would be surprise--no, shocked--if Microsoft didn't announce another rather large acquisition very soon."

For more on the post deal shakeout:
- see this Ars Technica article
- also check out this article in FierceFinance

ALSO NOTED: French wine CIO ready for an acquisition; Tech sector blues on Wall Street;

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 07:59:58 -0400

> French wine CIO ready for an acquisition. Article
> Tech sector blues on Wall Street. Article
> Today's rumor: Google to buy Expedia? Article
> How to hire more IT women. Article
> CIOs head to smaller companies. Article
> A lesson in change management. Article

And Finally... Are you a rock star? Article

Google pays $3.1 billion for DoubleClick

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 07:59:59 -0400

Google finalized a $3.1 million deal on Wednesday for DoubleClick, a New York company that places ads on web pages that targeted consumers are likely to use, says the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Rivals of the deal argue that Google now will have "too much control over the online ad market." The European Commission disagrees. Still, how much control does Google need?

For more on Google's acquisition:
- Read the article

Yahoo rejects Microsoft's offer

Mon, 11 Feb 2008 06:59:59 -0500

It wasn't even a business day when word began to spread that Yahoo had rejected Microsoft's $44.6 billion bid. Yahoo didn't think that the $31 per share offer was nearly enough, according to several news reports on Saturday, Feb. 9th. You might ask just how much is enough when an offer is in the double-digit billions?

It doesn't really matter. This chase could go on for months. Just look how look at how long it took Oracle to win BEA a few months back. Oracle gave a little bit more and got BEA in the final deal. The bigger issue is what can Microsoft get from this possible merger? The answer is plenty. An article in The New York Times on Saturday said that Yahoo would be able to provide the audience and the infrastructure for Microsoft to compete in the world of low-cost Internet-centered software.

"Microsoft makes its money selling licenses to millions and millions of people who install it on individual hard drives," said Nicholas Carr, a former editor at The Harvard Business Review and author of The Big Switch, a book about the transition to what the technology industry calls 'cloud computing.' "Most of what you need is on the Internet - and it's free," he said. "There are early warning signs that the traditional Microsoft programs are losing their grip."

While consumers are likely to gravitate toward free software, most of Microsoft's profit comes from selling software to corporations, which may be slower to adapt to a system in which proprietary data is not stored in corporate-owned data centers. This could change and CIO's must be on the alert to take advantage of these emerging opportunities. It's too soon to bet the bank on how this highly-charged merger initiative will turn out but just because Yahoo rejected its suitor doesn't mean the romance is over or that change is not in the cards.

For more on this high-stakes bid and its consequences:
- See this New York Times article
- and this Washington Post article

Microsoft offers $44.6B for Yahoo

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 06:59:58 -0500

The rumors were true: Microsoft has formally offered a bid of $44.6 billion for ailing web giant Yahoo. The offer works out to a price of $31 per share of Yahoo stock--a 62 percent premium over yesterday's closing price. "We have great respect for Yahoo!, and together we can offer an increasingly exciting set of solutions for consumers, publishers and advertisers while becoming better positioned to compete in the online services market," Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer wrote in the proposal to Yahoo's board of directors.

Speculation surrounding the deal has long characterized Microsoft's bid to buy Yahoo as an attempt to counter Google's increasing web-based advertising dominance. Ballmer seems to confirm this in his letter: "Today, the market is increasingly dominated by one player who is consolidating its dominance through acquisition. Together, Microsoft and Yahoo! can offer a credible alternative for consumers, advertisers, and publishers."

Of course, this is far from a done deal. Even if Yahoo accepts, the deal will have to clear a number of hurtles, many pertaining to U.S. regulatory scrutiny. Nonetheless, Microsoft has finally made its intentions known--will Yahoo respond in kind?

For more on the proposed deal:
- read the full letter at the New York Times
- and see this Ars Technica article

Rumor: AMD and IBM getting 'cozy'

Fri, 25 Jan 2008 06:59:57 -0500

If you keep your ear low to the ground, you might have heard some mumbling this week about a possible partnership being forged between AMD and IBM. According to JMP Securities analyst Krishna Shankar, the partnership "may involve a strategic equity infusion or even an outright merger between AMD and IBM Microelectronics." AMD is certainly in a tough spot right now and can use all the allies it can get. But what would IBM stand to gain from such a partnership? ZDnet's Larry Dignan took a close look at the rumors and tried to separate the reasonable scenarios from the wild speculation. While an outright merger and even a cash infusion probably don't fit into IBM's focus on software and services, a production partnership or strategic alliance could potentially benefit both companies. "AMD needs a big brother to fight Intel," Dignan notes. "IBM would fit the bill nicely."

For more on the speculation:
- see this ZDnet article

Is $6.7 Billion enough for BEA?

Mon, 15 Oct 2007 06:59:59 -0400

Oracle wants to buy BEA for $6.7 Billion, but does BEA really want to sell at that price, just to be gobbled up by the third largest software company in the world? It's unclear, even though offering price is a hefty negotiating tool in a software industry that continues to consolidate and fight over market share. "Oracle has been chasing Microsoft and IBM for years trying to catch up," said Zeus Kerravala, an analyst at the Yankee Group. And Oracle's acquisition of BEA would make them stronger to complete against the two giants. This would not be the first big step for Oracle: the company bought Siebel for about $6 billion in 2006. Earlier this year, Oracle also purchased Hyperion Solutions, a business software developer, for more than $3 billion.

For more on this:
- read the article in CIO-Today