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Posted on 09.15.06 by Nikhil @ 2:21 pm
Earlier this month, Motorola announced that it will acquire Symbol Technologies in an all cash deal for $15 per share - or $3.9 billion. You may wonder why Motorola would want anything to do with this maker of bar code scanners. Sumbol, after all, has been less than a star performer over the past few years. But Motorola sees a silver lining: A way to boost its own business in the enterprise with Symbol’s radio frequency identification technologies (RFID used in bar code scanners) as well as its mobile software aimed at businesses. It’s a big market and as more companies turn to wireless technologies to boost productivity of their employees, Motorola can make inroads into warehousing companies and manufacturing companies that need the technology to track inventory. The acquisition, of course, must receive regulatory approval. If all goes through, the deal will be finalized at the end of this year, or in the early part of 2007. Shares of Motorola are off a little on the news, but shares of Symbol Technologies soared earlier, over speculation about the acquisition. Filed under: Stock Watch and Mergers/Acquisitions Comments: None |
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Posted on 08.01.06 by Nikhil @ 5:56 pm
Nokia and Motorola are tops when it comes to handsets. But some Japanese manufacturers want a bigger piece of the pie. Handset vendors NEC and Panasonic are aiming to beef up their cell phones with chips from Texas Instruments as well as NEC Electronics and Matsushita. The idea is to create a joint venture that will develop, design and license technology for hardware and software communications platforms for next-gen mobile handsets. The new JV, called Adcore-Tech, will see the five companies invest a total of $104 million. The first handsets are expected to reach market in the fall of 2007, according to the companies. Get more details at RCR News. Filed under: Stock Watch and Mergers/Acquisitions Comments: None |
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Posted on 07.24.06 by Nikhil @ 4:22 pm
The possibility had been discussed for years, but finally, on Monday morning, chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices announced that it plans to acquire ATI Technologies, the Markham, Ontario, manufacturer of graphics chips, for $5.4 billion. That’s a 24% premium over ATI’s Friday closing price of $16.56. The deal was approved yesterday by the boards of directors of both companies. Under the terms, shareholders of ATI will receive cash and stock worth $20.47 for each share. Click Here to read the rest of my column in Forbes.com Filed under: Stock Watch and News and Mergers/Acquisitions Comments: None |
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Posted on 07.06.06 by Nikhil @ 5:44 pm
There has been lots of talk about the Clearwire IPO recently. I’ve been skeptical. After all, the market is sketchy right now, the company is not profitable and it only has 20,000 subscribers. The big draw, of course, is that Craig McCaw runs the company. The news just out is that instead of going public, Clearwire will get a $900 million investment led by Intel Capital. Intel Capital will invest $600 million and the rest will come from others, including Motorola. Clearwire is the second largest 2.5 GHz spectrum holder in the U.S. With its $900 million, the company, undoubtedly, will deploy the high speed WiMax system. Read the press release from Clearwire. Good news for WiMax. Filed under: Infrastructure and Cutting Edge and News and Mergers/Acquisitions Comments: None |
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Posted on 04.14.06 by Nikhil @ 9:01 pm
Chinese vendors ZTE and Huawei both had a big presence at the CTIA Show. ZTE, for its part, is getting ready to make a move into the U.S. market. So far, the company has been on a mission in Europe, establishing deals for its handsets and its equipment throughout the continent. Now, along with Huawei, the U.S. is the target market. At the show, both companies introduced infrastructure equipment for the CDMA market, an area dominated by Nortel and Lucent. But as Verizon and Sprint upgrade their EV-DO networks, these Chinese companies hope to get a piece of the action. For more on ZTE’s move into the U.S., read this article from the newspaper, China Daily. Filed under: Stock Watch and News and Mergers/Acquisitions Comments: None |
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Posted on 04.13.06 by Nikhil @ 1:01 pm
Texas Instruments is in talks with Japanese companies Matsushita and NEC to set up a joint venture to develop chips for 3G phones. The companies plan to set up a joint venture in Japan with the goal of developing chips for 3G cell phones. This is a fast growing market for Japan as more people use 3G to watch video clips and download music files. Read more in the Seattle-Post Intelligencer. Filed under: Stock Watch and News and Mergers/Acquisitions Comments: None |
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Posted on 12.15.05 by Nikhil @ 6:03 pm
Could Google be looking for a way to become the dominant browser for cellphones? There is a rumour circulating around that Google is considering buying Opera, which is one of the best browsers for mobile handsets. But according to Google and Opera, there is no truth in the rumour. I believe it, partly because Google is close with the Firefox community. Still, if it wants to get into mobile, Opera is one way. But the talk does bring up the issue of what Google’s larger ambitions may be in the wireless space. Wireless is growing rapidly and with high speed 3G networks now being deployed, more people want to use their handsets to find information. Browsers become critical. It’s a topic I plan to tackle soon in Forbes Wireless Stock Watch. Filed under: News and Mergers/Acquisitions Comments: None |
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Posted on 12.10.05 by Nikhil @ 12:02 am
I’ve covered Jamdat extensively in Forbes Wireless Stock Watch. In August, the stock price fell 30% on concerns about third-quarter earnings. I urged investors not to be shortsighted and said that the company’s strategic plans were right on target and that Jamdat could become a takeover target. Well, that’s exactly what happened. As you may know, Los Angeles-based Jamdat Mobile is the premier developer of games for wireless devices. The announcement isn’t a great surprise, given that Electronic Arts, based in Redwood City, Calif., has been trying to increase its presence in this booming market that now has some 5 billion wireless subscribers worldwide. Interesting to note as well is that about 40% of mobile phones are currently game-enabled, a statistic that Warren Jensen, chief financial officer at Electronic Arts, offered at a news conference announcing the deal. While EA had tried to go it alone, making games for mobile devices requires very different skills than developing games for PCs and videogame consoles. Obviously, the company decided it would do better by turning to an established pro. Filed under: Stock Watch and Wireless Gaming and News and Mergers/Acquisitions Comments: None |
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Posted on 12.08.05 by Nikhil @ 1:35 pm
NTL – a big provider of cable and phone service in the U.S. is considering a take over of Peter Branson’s Virgin Mobile. While Virgin Mobile just said today that it would not accept NTL’s offer, saying that its $1.42 billion offer was too low, it’s possible that NTL will come back with a revised offer. The result could be a giant company that would sell cable, voice, wireless and Internet services all under the Virgin brand. Of course, its not clear yet if this will happen, but some of the analysts out there say that Virgin Mobile could command as much as $1.4 billion. I will cover this in some detail, in Forbes Wireless Stock Watch if the deal actually goes through. NTL – a big provider of cable and phone service in the U.S. is considering a take over of Peter Branson’s Virgin Mobile. The result could be a giant company that would sell cable, voice, wireless and Internet services all under the Virgin brand. Of course, its not clear yet if this will happen, but some of the analysts out there say that Virgin Mobile could command as much as $1.4 billion. I will cover this in some detail, in Forbes Wireless Stock Watch if the deal actually goes through. You can read an update on the talks between the two companies at silicon.com Filed under: Stock Watch and News and Mergers/Acquisitions Comments: None |
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Posted on 11.03.05 by Nikhil @ 11:23 pm
Industry-wide consolidation could be taking another turn. I’ve been saying it for a long time. If phones are to replace our computers, Ipods, cameras, videos and televisions, the service providers must be able to provide not just cellular telephony, but also broadcast TV service as well as a myriad of other technologies, including voice-over-IP. Well now, demand for VoIP service could lead to a takeover of Vonage. There have been rumors for weeks that Vonage could be looking for a buyer. At first, BellSouth was a potential candidate. Now, says an article in today’s Wall Street Journal, the list has expanded to Sprint and T-Mobile. Alternatively, the company could choose to go public. According to the article, if Vonage is acquired it could be a $2 billion deal. If it goes public, Vonage could raise as much as $600 million. So far, Vonage hasn’t said a word about the report. Filed under: News and Mergers/Acquisitions Comments: None |
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