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ElevationPartners posts

Palm live from D7

by Joshua Topolsky posted May 28th 2009 at 3:14PM

It's already been a crazy day for Palm news -- so who knows what Palm's Jon Rubinstein and Elevation Partner's Roger McNamee have in store (well, we have a few ideas). We're live at their D7 session and the fun is set to begin any moment, so stay tuned.

Thanks to our editor-at-large and gdgt co-founder Ryan Block for handling photo duties during the show!

Continue reading Palm live from D7

Roger McNamee self-parodies his Palm Pre superlatives: "it eats iPhones for breakfast"

by Paul Miller posted May 28th 2009 at 3:12PM

The ever-quotable, perennially unkempt Roger McNamee of Elevation Partners fame indulged in a bit of self-parody in a mock-commercial screened at D7 before he and Jon Rubinstein took the stage. While incredibly entertaining, the video also acts as a bit of damage control for Roger, who infamously stated that there would be a massive and sudden exodus from the iPhone to the Pre once those original iPhone contracts are up. Palm naturally distanced itself and "clarified" the comments, but that doesn't seem to have dampened McNamee's spirit: in the video he calls the Pre, among other things, "better than Viagra." Unfortunately for McNamee, he might've been better served by a damage control video after his time on stage with Walt and Kara: his semi-sexist "It has a mirror on the back... there's never been a phone like this for women before" line -- not to mention a general disregard for sane conversation -- isn't winning him many points with the crowd. Video is after the break.

Continue reading Roger McNamee self-parodies his Palm Pre superlatives: "it eats iPhones for breakfast"

Roger McNamee's wild predictions shot down -- by Palm itself

by Tim Stevens posted Mar 10th 2009 at 7:12AM

Remember wild-man McNamee's predictions last week of death to the iPhone and all sorts of other Pre-related wonderment? We read and we chuckled and we moved on, but someone took his statements a little more seriously -- Palm. Yes, the company Roger was talking up, the company in which his firm Elevation Partners owns a particularly large stake, submitted a document to the SEC that summarily disputes all of his hyperactive talking points. It's full of facts and figures and is completely dry, but, like an episode of Yes Minister, is also full of comedic brilliance. Here's the company's reaction to our favorite bit, about the death of the iPhone:

The statement in the second paragraph of the article that "not one" person who bought an Apple, Inc. iPhone on the first shipment date "will still be using an iPhone a month" after the two-year anniversary of that day is an exaggerated prediction of consumer behavior pattern and is withdrawn.

It's good to know that, even in these tough times, there's still some comedy left in the corporate world. More boardroom humor after the break.

[Via Palm Infocenter]

Continue reading Roger McNamee's wild predictions shot down -- by Palm itself

Palm selling some stock to help with Pre, pay off Bono before he breaks kneecaps

by Chris Ziegler posted Mar 9th 2009 at 7:02PM

Pre fever's in the air, yes, but beneath the elation and excitement of Palm's mega-launch, there's a cold, hard reality: bills are piling up. To that end, the company is looking to queue up a "secondary offering" of its stock to the tune of 18.5 million shares, which -- thanks to a nice bump in value since the Pre's announcement -- should rake in over $100 million in capital. Some $49 million of that would be used to repay part owner Elevation Partners, while the rest would be funneled directly into Pre launch activities and future product development. Palm wants to wait until market conditions are just right for the offering to take place, but it'd like to have the stock sale wrapped up by the 31st; look for a hands-on from us shortly thereafter.

CE-Oh no he didn't! Part LIX: Elevation's McNamee predicts death to iPhone on June 29

by Tim Stevens posted Mar 6th 2009 at 11:03AM

Roger McNamee, founding partner of the Palm-rescuing investment firm Elevation Partners, has had some interesting things to say about what to expect from the Pre. Now, though, he's really out done himself with what he has to say about the iPhone. In an interview with Bloomberg, McNamee (aka "Chubby Wombat Moonalice" when playing bass) predicted that the Pre will bring the downfall of Apple's wunder-handset, saying:

June 29, 2009, is the two-year anniversary of the first shipment of the iPhone. Not one of those people will still be using an iPhone a month later. Think about it -- if you bought the first iPhone, you bought it because you wanted the coolest product on the market. Your two-year contract has just expired. Look around. Tell me what they're going to buy.

We don't know the future, but we can sure tell you what we're not buying right now. And besides, we don't know too many early adopter types that could resist the siren call of 3G halfway through their existing iPhone contract, thereby re-upping their contract for another few millenia. That should be plenty enough time for Apple to whip up something new... or at least for Roger to get a haircut.

[Via Daring Fireball]

Palm investor McNamee details Pre's neat location-based features

by Chris Ziegler posted Jan 19th 2009 at 2:24PM

As much as we've heard about (and played with) the Pre this month, there's still a whole lot yet to be revealed about webOS; Palm clearly has a little bit of work left to finish and polish the platform, so what we know so far has much more to do with UI glitz, glamor, and flashiness than the actual trench warfare of using a phone day in and day out. Yahoo's Tech Ticker had a chance to chat with Elevation Partners' Roger McNamee -- a figure whose cash infusion has been central to Palm's survival this past year or so as they've raced to throw together the Pre -- and in between Houdini-esque reveals of seemingly hundreds of smartphones on his person, he's slipped a couple cool location-oriented features we can expect in webOS. First up, the phone can be configured to check out your calendar every morning and automatically download all sorts of information about the people, places, and companies you're going to visit, including maps -- an especially awesome feature if you're dealing with spotty 3G coverage. Even cooler, though, has to be the lateness notifier -- the phone uses GPS to determine where you are, compares it to where you're supposed to be at the moment, and if it figures out that you're screwed, it'll let you know. What's more, it can automatically email people to let them know that you've screwed up (just blame it on the traffic -- we always do). Follow the break for Tech Ticker's full interview.

[Via PreCentral.net]

Continue reading Palm investor McNamee details Pre's neat location-based features

Palm nabs another $100m from Elevation Partners, takes it to the bridge

by Joshua Topolsky posted Dec 22nd 2008 at 11:17AM

According to reports today, Palm has managed to snag another $100 million from Elevation Partners (the private equity team co-owned by Bono). The new figure gets tacked onto Palm's existing $325 million buy-in from the firm. The previous sum was put towards the struggling handset / software-maker's "strategic recapitalization," and we can only assume this latest infusion is being used for the home stretch into that New OS and those New devices we're expecting see come CES. It's not completely surprising you'd want to juice your previous large investment, but if Palm's numbers keep shifting downward, it seems unlikely this will be anything other than a Hail Mary. Even if Bono loses $100m in his couch cushions, it doesn't mean Elevation Partners is in for the long haul.

Palm closes recapitalization deal with Elevation Partners

by Darren Murph posted Oct 25th 2007 at 2:02PM

No surprises here, but Palm's "strategic recapitalization" effort has officially been closed. Just months after shareholders gave a collective thumbs-up to the idea (hey, who can say no to Bono?), Elevation Partners has indeed "invested $325 million in Palm, which the company will utilize along with existing cash and $400 million of new debt to finance a $9-per share cash distribution." Additionally, a number of new faces have been appointed jobs within the outfit, and the "total number of directors on the board has been increased from eight to nine." Ed Colligan, Palm's president and CEO, proclaimed that this "transaction has laid the groundwork for the firm to recapture its position as the leading innovator and brand of the mobile-computing revolution." Now that's the spirit, Ed.

[Via mocoNews]

Palm shareholders approve Elevation Partners sale

by Joshua Topolsky posted Sep 12th 2007 at 5:01PM

In a move that could be described as "totally unsurprising," Palm shareholders have approved the much-discussed partial sale of the company to a private equity firm called Elevation Partners (of which Bono is a member), and also a change in the board of director's makeup. The plan, if you'll recall, is for Mr. MacPhisto and co. to pay $325 million for a 25-percent stake in the company, while Palm itself will pay out a $9 per-share distribution of cash to current shareholders for a reduction in ownership. There will also be a new executive board chair, namely, Johnathan Rubenstein, an Apple alumni who ran the iPod devision from 2004-2006. Fred Anderson (another former Apple officer), and Roger McNamee (a Silicon Valley investor) will also join the board. Our man Ed Colligan said of the switch, "There are a lot of moving parts here, but the goal is to bring in a transformation and change the dynamics of the company," er... okay. Apparently, Palm has hopes that Mr. Rubenstein will help create "innovative products" and "bring them to market quickly." In our dreams guys, in our dreams.

Palm Foleo delayed amid criticism on development

by Joshua Topolsky posted Aug 22nd 2007 at 8:55PM

According to a Barron's report published today, Deutsche Bank analyst Johnathan Goldberg has released a short note claiming that the Foleo -- Palm's much-derided quasi-laptop -- is headed for production delays. Goldberg states in the note that "In a round of checks yesterday we learned that the Palm Foleo will be delayed," and went on to say the snag is caused by "software bugs," which prevent the system from syncing properly with "most models of the Treo." Clearly not the news that Palm wants people to hear right now, with pressure already to-the-nines on the Foleo and its place (or lack thereof) in the market. With the recent addition of Elevation Partners to Palm's board, the company is due to take on $400 million in new debt, but on a phone call to Barron's later in the day, Goldberg said that "a leveraged re-cap is not going to help them." Succinctly mirroring Engadget's own feelings on the matter, the analyst noted that "There's something wrong with the company," and suggested Palm alleviate some of its problems by introducing "...new software," and "...new form factors." We couldn't have put it better ourselves.

Read -- Palm Sub-Laptop "Foleo" Delayed, Says Deutsche; Does Anyone Care?
Read -- Palm: It's The Software, Stupid, Says Deutsche's Goldberg; Where's the Sense of Urgency?

Palm sells 25% stake to Bono and former Apple execs

by Thomas Ricker posted Jun 4th 2007 at 4:10AM

The wires are alight with news that Palm will be announcing a deal to sell a 25% stake to Elevation Partners. The private equity firm where Bono is a founding partner will shell-out $325 million for the privilege of helping Palm reorganize. Jon Rubinstein, Apple's retired head of hardware -- yes, that hardware -- joins Palm as executive chairman to head up product development while Apple's former CFO Fred Anderson -- yes, that Fred Anderson -- joins Palm's board of directors. Palm's current Chairman, Eric Benhamou, and board director D. Scott Mercer would then step down assuming shareholders approve the deal. Sure, it's not the sale that many had hoped for, but at least we can look forward to a new limited edition black and red Foleo which is somethin'.

Update: It's official, see the press release for all the recapitalization gore.

[Via MocoNews]