Seth Gilbert, 04-7-2008
The thumb wrestling and public positioning continues. As expected, Yahoo today issued a prompt and dismissive (but diplomatic) reply to Steve Ballmer’s weekend ultimatum. Yahoo “is not opposed to a transaction with Microsoft if it is in the best interests of our stockholders,” Jerry Yang and Roy Bostock said. The offer, however, remains too low. Further, they charge that Microsoft’s assertions and threats are misrepresentative and non productive.
The full text of the 865 word letter is reprinted below. Some of the highlights along with interpretive commentary:
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Seth Gilbert, 04-5-2008
On a Friday Microsoft made public their offer to buy Yahoo at $31 a share. Yesterday, another Friday, but two months later and with little progress made, reports circulated that Microsoft might be reconsidering its position. Today, any confusion on that point was removed. In a letter to Yahoo Board of Directors (copied below), Steve Ballmer explicitly began the countdown: three weeks. Three weeks and then things get nasty.
The ultimatum issued via the letter demands negotiations be completed and terms reached. If they’re not, Microsoft will take the offer, likely at a lower price, straight to the shareholders in a tender offer and proxy fight.
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Seth Gilbert, 04-3-2008
For years, Yahoo’s Ian Rogers has been among the most respected executives straddling the fence between tech and the music industry. In overseeing Yahoo’s digital music enterprises, he built a reputation for championing the interests of music fans and for being incredibly candid (especially in his outspoken critique of DRM encryption). Given that shoot from the hip style, it’s no surprise that he began a recent personal blog entry with the phrase, “I may as well set the record straight.”
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Seth Gilbert, 04-2-2008
There may be plenty of buzz about next generation iPhones, or Apple’s efforts to capture the smartphone market, but Research in Motion doesn’t seem fazed. Wednesday, when the phone maker released Q4 earnings, the numbers were strong. Even amidst a slowing economy, RIM (Nasdaq: RIMM) easily beat guidance and doubled year over year results.
For the three months ending March 1st, RIM earned $412.5 million (72c a share) on revenue of $1.88 billion. Both numbers are more than double year ago results when RIM reported earnings of $187.4 million (33c a share) on revenues of $930.4 million. The Wall Street consensus was for fourth quarter earnings of 70c a share on revenue of $1.86 billion (Thompson).
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Seth Gilbert, 03-31-2008
New Media tech writers (Metue included) usually reserve some airtime to cover the freshly funded. Such newly flush startups are powerful fuel for talking about developing trends or as barometers for the next (or not likely to be next) new thing. Every now and then though, when the funding size is extravagant or the recipient a peer, the financial press gets buzzing.
This relatively quiet news Monday, the blog side of tech news buzzed about the Series A financing of press-centric startup Publish2. Per the company’s own announcement, they closed a $2.75m first round with money from Velocity Group.
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Seth Gilbert, 03-28-2008
How much investment in social networking companies is enough? If you ask Facebook or new startup weplay.com, the answer may be there’s no such thing. Both have added to their coffers. $4.5m for Weplay, $60m for Facebook.
In the case of Weplay, talent agency Creative Artists had hinted they were serious about venture investment when they moved to set up their own funding structure. In contributing part of the $4.5m raised for the kid’s sports site, they officially stepped up to the plate. Major League Baseball’s Investment arm and Pequot Capital also contributed.
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Seth Gilbert, 03-27-2008
“The offer is inadequate and not in the best interests of the shareholders.”
That was the tagline when Take Two initially responded to EA’s public tender offer to acquire the company. Wednesday, the sentiment echoed anew from the boardroom and two brokerages when Take Two formerly rejected the offer.
Supporting the decision legally, the company filed a heavy load of documents with the SEC stating their case, along with supporting (albeit disclaimer laden) fairness opinion letters from Bear Sterns and Lehman Brothers.
It took some time to digest all the paper and put together this detailed review Click to Read More
