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From key earnings announcements to days significant in takeover battles like Yahoo/Microsoft and EA/Take Two, the next month is littered with influential events, especially for companies at the crossroads of media, entertainment and technology.  There’s so much to keep track of:  On April 17th Google releases earnings.  April 22nd, Yahoo follows suit. Then there’s Microsoft on the 24th, Nintendo (also the 24th), DreamWorks SKG, Viacom, Disney and a host of others. It’s easy to lose track.

For quick and easy reference to stay on top of it all, we’re trying out a new feature: The Metue Event calendar.  The new page takes our internal calendar and puts the key dates in a simple, sortable table for all to use.  Looking for a company, click the headings for the appropriate column and the table will resort to list the companies. Click to Read More

In the past few months, shareholders have gotten especially active in pushing their corporate boards to act as they wish.  Carl Icahn squeezed Motorola to a new Chairman and an eventual breakup plan.  Electronic Arts has Take Two by the collar. Microsoft is chasing Yahoo.   It used to be proxy fights and hostile takeovers were rare but now the rules are changing.  The rough games are becoming common and they seem to be looming like a scripted sequel to Oliver Stone’s Wall Street.   Is something in the water on Wall Street?    

Today, just when it seemed more surprises were unlikely, up popped Blockbuster with a billion dollar Gordon Gecko maneuver of their own. Click to Read More

Recently published data from the National Venture Capital Association showed fewer venture funds have been out raising capital (57 in Q1 2008 versus 83 in 2007 and 75 and 2006) but there’s no shortage of funding.  So far this year, about the same amount of money has been raised for new funds (compared to the same period last year) despite the smaller group of fund partnerships with their hands out.  The cumulative cash raised in 2007 was also high, insuring plenty of capital waiting to be deployed.  But if that’s not evidence enough, then recent investment rounds should be; three companies, Move Networks, Visible World and Realtime Worlds have all raised more than $25m in new rounds just announced.

Click to Read More

The revolving doors of corporate suites are always turning. New hires coming in, new executives restocking teams with teams of their own choosing, people moving to new challenges or to pasture.  It’s a constant.  This past week, however, has seen enough executive staff shifting to keep any HR team busy.  From Motorola to AMD, from the BBC to NBC and CBS, from the Washington Post to the Wall Street Journal, the corporate trees got a good shake.  Here’s the recap of who’s in and who’s out: Click to Read More

Do the Justices of the Supreme Court use TiVo or record programs on a DVR? And if they do, what do they watch? Gossip columnists stand by. There could be a story coming, probably not, almost definitely not, but it’s possible. Today, the DC based U.S. Court of Appeals denied Dish Network’s appeal for a new hearing in the Satellite provider’s long running battle with TiVo over digital video recorder (DVR)  patents.  The next stop for the case could be the Supreme Court.

The dispute underlying the appeal began in 2004 when TiVo charged DVR’s offered by Dish Network (EchoStar) violated their patents. Click to Read More

Microsoft’s ultimatum expires on April 26th.  If no deal is struck by that date, they are threatening to take their offer to Yahoo’s shareholders and go hostile.    Is it a bluff or a promise? Only a few insiders know for sure.  But before that game of chicken can lead to an incident, two pivotal dates will first pass on the acquisition calendar: April 17th and April 22.  What happens on those two fateful April days may have a more significant impact on what happens next than just about anything else.

April 17th is the day of Google’s earnings announcement.  On the second date, Yahoo will announce results of their own.  Combined, information revealed from the pair of earnings releases will serve as a barometer for the Internet economy. Click to Read More

Electronic Arts took its offer to Take Two’s shareholders and Microsoft is on the verge of doing similar with Yahoo.  Monday, Motorola narrowly avoided adding another major proxy fight to the quarter’s tally.  Subject to an agreement announced today, dissident board member Carl Icahn and the rest of Motorola’s board of directors agreed to settle their ongoing battle over board seats and control (Press Release).

In exchange for dropping litigation (filed to gain access to corporate documents) and for his withdrawing a proxy fight for four board seats, Motorola agreed to endorse two of Icahn’s nominees to the board.  The Illinois based company also agreed to both refrain from adding anti takeover provisions like poison pills and a staggered board to the spin-off of the company’s mobile phone business; and to insure Icahn (or his board representatives) will have a significant voice in decisions regarding the spin-off (including the hiring of a CEO).  

These decisions regarding the future handset business are particularly noteworthy. Click to Read More