Cisco Blinks
Cisco strongly believed that its first bid for videoconferencing equipment manufacturer Tandberg was a very good price for the company’s shareholders. The company really didn’t want to sweeten it. But Cisco did so anyway.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Cisco to Tandberg: Higher Bid Not Likely
Looks like there may be a bit of truth to reports that Cisco would rather bail on its proposed acquisition of Tandberg than raise its bid for the videoconferencing equipment manufacturer. Remarking today on speculation that Cisco would do just that, Ned Hooper, the company’s chief strategy officer, stressed that Cisco “will always act with fiscal prudence” as it pursues Tandberg.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Cisco to Tandberg Shareholders: You’ll Accept $3.04 billion and Like It
Cisco has a message for Tandberg shareholders pressing the networking giant to raise its $3.04 billion offer for the company: Take it or we’re leaving. Sources tell Bloomberg that Cisco has little intention of meeting the demands of a group of investors who would like it to reach a bit deeper into its wallet before they hand over their 24 percent stake in Tandberg.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Mr. Ellison Asks That His Burgers Be Served With Freedom Fries Until Further Notice
Approved without incident by Sun shareholders in July and the U.S. Justice Department in August, Oracle’s planned $7.4 billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems seemed poised to easily pass muster with European regulators as well. Sadly for Oracle, that’s not how things have played out. Citing “serious concerns” about the deal’s effect on competition in the market for databases, the European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into it.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
DOJ Clears Oracle-Sun Deal
The Justice Department’s extended antitrust review of Oracle’s proposed acquisition of Sun apparently turned up few issues of concern. Oracle said this afternoon that regulators have approved the $7.4 billion deal with no restrictions.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Earth’s Biggest Shoe Store?
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?
All in Favor of Putting Sun Out of Its Misery, Say Aye
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.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Sun Earnings to Scare Moss Off Rock
Looks like Sun’s last quarterly report as an independent company will be among the company’s ugliest. Sun, which is to be acquired by Oracle in a $7.4 billion deal, said Tuesday morning that its fiscal fourth-quarter loss will be far steeper than the one Wall Street has been expecting.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Unlike Demand for Dell Stock, Demand for Dell Products Has Stabilized
Things are starting to look up for Dell–well, as much as they can for a company so beaten into submission by the econalypse. The company said Monday that demand for its products appears to have stabilized and that it expects to report “a slight sequential revenue increase” for its second fiscal quarter, which ends July 31.
Heck of a Job, Karmi
Bad news for Sirius XM shareholders hoping for a change in management: Mel Karmazin’s five-year contract as CEO of the satellite radio provider has been extended through December 2012. And he’s been given a raise and new stock options to boot.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Monster: Backdating BAD
Monster has finally put its backdating case to rest. Nary a week after former COO James Treacy was convicted of conspiracy and securities fraud, the online employment search company agreed to pay a $2.5 million fine to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to settle charges that it improperly backdated millions of dollars in stock options.
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About John
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 »
Ethics Statement
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.
alt.misc
- Godzilla’s Food, Exercise, and Dream Diary
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. - Scenes From An Alternate Universe Where The Beatles Accepted Lorne Michaels’ Generous Offer
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.
- The Golden Age of Video
Best video mashup ever.
- I’m not dead yet
A Facebook Memorial
- Pulp Fiction Audio Mix
Wow.
- A world without the Internet
Worth it for the Rickrolling photo alone.
- Google Wave Cinema: Pulp Fiction
Excellent.
- Dead Fly Art
Flughumor!
- Happy Birthday Monty Python …
… you vacuous, toffee-nosed, malodorous perverts
- ‘You are being shagged by a rare parrot’
Stephen Fry and zoologist Mark Carwardine meet the kakapo — a fat, flightless and very randy rare parrot.




