Another big acquisition for Silicon Valley. Hewlett-Packard said Thursday said it would acquire networking gear outfit 3Com for $2.7 billion, or $7.90 a share. The acquisition, which has been approved by both companies’ boards, will bolster HP’s Ethernet switching offerings and, thanks to 3Com’s routing business, intensify competition with rival Cisco.
Is there any possibility that Oracle would abandon its bid for Sun? And if Oracle were to walk away, what would happen to Sun? Thomas Weisel Partners analyst Doug Reid weighs both of these questions in a note to investors today, and his answers are worth considering in light of reports that the European Commission may object to the deal.
Wireless company iPCS is a legal thorn in Sprint’s side no longer. This morning, Sprint said it would acquire its litigious affiliate for $831 million, including the assumption of $405 million of net debt.
Lots of jawing yesterday over reports that Palm is paying developers to bring their mobile apps to the webOS platform. An interesting claim–were it true. But according to multiple sources, it’s not.
According to IDC, the worldwide market for business analytics software will swell to $25 billion this year. Little wonder, then, that IBM is beefing up its presence in that sector with the $1.2 billion acquisition of data analysis software maker SPSS. Business analytics powerhouse SAS best watch its back.
Well, this is unexpected. Amazon has agreed to purchase online shoe retailer Zappos.com in a deal valued at about $850 million. Under its terms, 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. If the shoe fits, right?
The shareholders of Sun Microsystems have given the thumbs-up to the company’s merger agreement with Oracle. At a special meeting Thursday, a 62 percent majority of Sun’s common stock owners–not including CEO Jonathan Schwartz and board chairman and co-founder Scott McNealy, who, oddly, did not attend–approved the deal.
IBM had a very good second quarter, all things considered. The company reported earnings that trounced analysts’ estimates and raised its full-year earnings forecast. Earnings were $2.32 per share, up from $1.97 per share in the same period last year, and well above the $2.02 per share the Street was looking for.
EMC has long claimed that its bid for Data Domain is clearly superior to NetApp’s, and today NetApp finally agreed. After market close Wednesday afternoon, NetApp said it has terminated its merger agreement with Data Domain, giving the data storage technology vendor leave to accept EMC’s unsolicited takeover bid–at $33.50 a share cash, an 11 percent premium over its own.
NetApp has cleared all necessary U.S. regulatory hurdles to proceed with its acquisition of Data Domain, though it seems unlikely that the company will prevail now that rival EMC has trumped its bid for the storage vendor.
John Paczkowski has been poking fun at the tech industry and the personalities that drive it since 1997. From 1999 to 2007, he wrote the award-winning tech news Web log Good Morning Silicon Valley for the San Jose Mercury News, Silicon Valley's daily newspaper. Read more »
Here is a statement of my ethics and coverage policies. It is more than most of you want to know, but, in the age of suspicion of the media, I am laying it all out.
12:58 AM: Breakfast: Two schools of fish from Tokyo Bay. Calories: 782,000. How I was feeling when I ate this: confused, irradiated, hating my size.
11:37 AM: Exercise: “Taxi Stomp” (alternating legs, for 30 blocks). Calories burned: 148,900,183.
1983. The Beatles announce their first tour in thirteen years, but likewise announce that Michael Jackson will be going on tour with them as a one gigantic mega-concert event.
Best video mashup ever.
A Facebook Memorial
Wow.
Worth it for the Rickrolling photo alone.
Excellent.
Flughumor!
… you vacuous, toffee-nosed, malodorous perverts
Stephen Fry and zoologist Mark Carwardine meet the kakapo — a fat, flightless and very randy rare parrot.
D is unlike any other executive conference. Since its debut in 2003, D has brought to life the energy and excitement of the digital revolution in an unscripted, upfront and unparalleled way. Read more »
Don't miss a post! Sign up for our Daily Email and get AllThingsD.com delivered each day.
Get columns, blogs and video from D and All Things Digital on your iPhone. Download now »
