HostileTakeover
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The hostile takeover of 'Watch Dogs' studio Ubisoft continues
Ubisoft, the studio behind Assassin's Creed, Watch Dogs, South Park, Rabbids and plenty of other off-the-wall franchises, is slowly losing itself. The company is being swallowed up by Vivendi, the entertainment conglomerate responsible for Universal Music Group and Dailymotion, among other ventures. Vivendi has been buying Ubisoft stock with the goal of securing a seat on the studio's board, and it now controls 20.1 percent of Ubisoft shares and 17.76 percent of its voting rights. The latest stock purchase comes just days after E3 ended on June 16th.
Samsung says it's absolutely not pursuing SanDisk any longer, just listening to Blood on the Tracks for no reason
Not sure why Samsung felt the need to reassure investors and the SEC that it's no longer pursuing SanDisk after its buyout offer was withdrawn back in November, but here we are, reading about it in the Wall Street Journal. Apparently the two companies signed a patent-licensing agreement in May, so we'd imagine that's kept lines of communication open -- but we have to warn you, Sammy: getting off that friends ladder ain't exactly easy. Maybe it's time to move on, you know?
Samsung withdraws bid for SanDisk, hurts with words
Citing SanDisk's "rapidly declining prospects," Samsung has withdrawn its hostile takeover bid. In a letter just released by Vice Chairman and CEO Lee Yoon-woo, Samsung writes, "After nearly six months of efforts to pursue a transaction with no meaningful progress, we are withdrawing our proposal to acquire SanDisk." The letter then turned a shade more nasty with this: "Your surprise announcements of a quarter billion dollar operating loss, a hurried renegotiation of your relationship with Toshiba and major job losses across your organisation all point to a considerable increase in your risk profile and a material deterioration in value, both on a stand-alone basis as well as to Samsung." Analysts will remind you that the move does not mean that Samsung has abandoned its quest for SanDisk entirely. However, further action in the current economic climate seems unlikely give the Korean governments warning against major overseas mergers and acquisitions. Besides, just who is SanDisk? Can it really be trusted after being seen palling around with slotMusic?Update: SanDisk just responded by blaming Samsung for the breakdown in negotiations while questioning its intentions. SanDisk then pivoted abruptly on heel and pretended to freshen-up its makeup while sneaking a wanton look back at Samsung in the reflection of its shareholder discontent. At least that's our read on the matter.
Samsung makes a hostile bid for SanDisk
We'd heard rumors Samsung was wooing SanDisk, but it looks like the four-month courtship is over -- Samsung just announced that in response to SanDisk's "unrealistic expectations" during negotiations, it's going hostile and will offer $26/share for the company. That's bound to cause some waves in the storage industry, especially since Toshiba and Seagate were also rumored to be interested in SanDisk. We'll see what happens -- things always get a little crazy when there's nearly six billion dollars in cash on the table.[Thanks, Marshall84]Update: SanDisk's board rejected the bid unanimously, saying the bid undervalues the company and is, like, totally uncool, man.Read - WSJ articleRead - Samsung letter to SanDisk
Blockbuster offers to buy, um, Circuit City: digital downloads be damned!
Huh? Blockbuster just made public its February 17th offer to purchase Circuit City for $6 to $8 per share. As of this morning, Circuit city has not provided the requested due diligence necessary to move the deal forward. As such, Blockbuster is pulling a Microsoft and making the proposal public in hopes of inciting shareholders. They've even gone so far as to publish an open letter from Blockbuster CEO Jim Keyes to Phil Schoonover, CEO of Circuit City. Really, is this how all corporate affairs will be conducted in the future guys? What really boggles the mind though is Blockbuster's quest for even more brick-and-mortar as digital downloads begin to take off. Hit the read link for the full contents of the letter. [Via I4U]
