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Hitachi acquires Fabrik, looks to expand market presence
We keep hearing that it's a buyer's market out there, and for anyone with any amount of cash (that'd be Hitachi, in this scenario), the getting is pretty great. Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (GST) has just announced that it has snapped up Fabrik, Inc., a privately-held supplier of personal and professional storage solutions. You may be more familiar with the said company's brands, as G-Technology and SimpleTech tend to ring bells much better than a name easily mistaken for clothing. According to Steve Milligan, President of Hitachi GST, the acquisition will soon become "the cornerstone for the next phase of Hitachi's business transformation," though he certainly didn't bother to elaborate. Who knows -- maybe one day soon we really will see Hitachi taking on the likes of Western Digital and LaCie in the external sector.
Coinstar buys out Redbox, will test higher Blu-ray rental prices
Redbox, the company made famous by its red movie rental kiosks, has been completely bought out by its majority owner: Coinstar. The announcement was made during the outfit's Q4 earnings call, and it's expected that the buyout was made in order for Coinstar to wallow alone in the windfall profits that are expected over the next few years. Speaking of profits, we're also being told that Redbox will start testing higher rental prices for BDs, much like Netflix has done, but obviously on a per-rental basis. There's been no word yet on just how high they'll push the Blu-ray rates above the standard $1, but you know you'll just suck it up and pay it. Not like you're reverting to DVD now, right?[Via ZatzNotFunny]Read - BuyoutRead - Increase in BD prices
Hutchison and Vodafone to merge in Australia, become VHA
So, how does one successfully snatch away market share from Telstra and Optus? If you're Hutchison or Vodafone, you merge! Announced today, two of Australia's smaller operators have decided that an equal joint venture would be the best approach to moving on up, and while they aren't suggesting that the current economic conditions influenced the decision, many analysts are suggesting that the tie-up could help the newly formed VHA fend off adverse effects from slowed spending on mobile communications. Once together, the combined group will have a local market share of around 26 percent, and Hutchison Australia's current chief executive, Nigel Dews, has been chosen to lead the new venture. Under the agreement, VHA will market its products and services under the Vodafone brand, though it will retain exclusive rights to Hutchison's "3" brand in The Land Down Under.[Via MobileBurn]
Nokia jumps out of thin air, acquires bit-side
Can't say we saw this one coming. Out of seemingly nowhere, Nokia has up and acquired a privately held Berlin-based professional services and software company with 39 employees. As part of the agreement, Nokia will take on "substantially all assets of bit-side GmbH," and for some unexplained reason, that move will enable Nokia to "strengthen and accelerate its mobile development for Nokia Maps." According to Michael Halbherr, vice president and head of social location at Nokia: "Acquiring bit-side enables Nokia to offer consumers the world-leading mobile location applications, such as Maps, along with routing and navigation at an accelerated speed." It's stated that bit-side will be wrapped into Nokia's Services unit, but honestly, we're still left mostly in the dark as to what this all means. Dark and inscrutable, just how we like it.[Via MobilityUpdate]
Funai to acquire Philips' North American Blu-ray / DVD operations
We already saw the writing on the wall, but now the deed is purportedly done -- or close enough, anyway. Reuters has it that Japan's Funai Electric will take over Philips' North American DVD, Blu-ray and other audiovisual operations starting next month. It's anticipated that the deal will boost Funai's North American sales by around $332 million, and of course, maintaining that well-known Philips badge is sure to be of assistance in that department. The agreement lays out that Funai will make periodic royalty payments to use the Philips brand rather than just buying up the whole thing outrightly. First the TV division, now this -- is there anything left of Philips worth caring about in the US?
$52 billion BCE takeover deemed dead, funeral planned for next week
Man, this one has been a bumpy ride, and oddly enough, it's not even over. Well, it's over, but not over. The back-and-forth over whether or not BCE would be bought out has come to an abrupt halt, as auditor KPMG "determined that the company-to-be wouldn't pass a solvency test required as a condition of closing the deal." On the table was a $42.75-a-share cash offering by a group led by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, but all that's lost now. According to BCE Acquisition Group: "Because KPMG has concluded that a required test for the solvency opinion was not met, this mutual condition to completion of the acquisition could not be, and was not, satisfied." Here's where things get wonky; BCE is now vigorously attempting to procure a $1.2 billion "breakup fee" that the Teachers group doesn't agree with. We're still waiting to see if BCE will initiate litigation, but you can bet said Teachers organization ain't scared.[Via mobilesyrup]
Nokia seals acquisition of Symbian Limited
Yep, it's a done deal. On the same day Nokia chose to unveil its new flagship N97, the outfit also announced that it had "completed its offer to acquire software company Symbian Limited." As of now, "all conditions to Nokia's offer to acquire Symbian Limited have been satisfied and it has received valid acceptance of greater than 99.9% of the total Symbian shares that Nokia did not already own." Nokia's not saying much else about the changeover just yet, but we are told that every last Symbian employee is expected to wear a Nokia badge come February 1, 2009.
SK Telecom no longer casting glances in Sprint's direction
We've been hearing about a possible SK Telecom-Sprint tie-up since July of 2007, but if either firm ever hoped to actually tie the proverbial knot -- well, let's just say that ship has sailed. Given the weakening economy and the general tendency to resist taking risks right about now, the Korean giant has dropped its plans to partner with Sprint in any form or fashion. In related news, Sprint is looking to hop on the quickly expanding layoff bandwagon, but given its humongous Q3 loss, we suppose that's not totally illogical. We're told that the carrier is offering "voluntary buyout packages" to an unspecified number of employees, which is far more awesome than the "thanks, now get the hell out of here" line that's being handed down by so many other firms. Crazy times, we tell you.[Via Boy Genius Report]
Panasonic and Sanyo change status to "it's complicated"
You know you've heard it from two lovebirds in junior high: "we're not going out, we're just talking." In a completely bizarre way, that's about the best way we can sum up what's apparently going on between Panasonic and Sanyo Electric. According to an unnamed company official "familiar with the negotiations," Panny is already in talks with Goldman Sachs, Daiwa Securities SMBC and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking about snapping up a "controlling stake in its smaller rival." Reportedly, these "talks" are at the so-called preliminary stage, and dialog regarding dollars and cents (and yen, probably) has yet to officially occur. Still, the insider asserts that a formal acquisition proposal will be submitted soon, potentially enabling Panasonic to quickly grab a "world-class" (wait, really?) battery operation and give it a leg-up in the exploding solar energy market. Stay tuned for more -- you know the unpredictable always happens on Saturday nights.[Via Bloomberg]
The Daily Grind: What will the server merge mean for Age of Conan?
You may have heard that some Age of Conan servers will soon be merged in both the North American and European regions. New game director Craig Morrison made the announcement in a letter to the community just over a week ago. That revelation was a tacit admission that the game is not performing as expected, but Morrison has made it clear that he wants Funcom to brush the dirt off its shoulders and move on.Will the mergers encourage you to jump ship, or do you take them as a sign that Funcom is aware of the situation and ready to take decisive action to improve the game? Morrison claimed that the decision was made in response to player demand; were you demanding it? And regardless of whether you plan to stick with AoC (or return, if you've already left), do you believe the game has recovery and a positive future ahead of it? Having fun in Conan's homeland? Make sure to check out all of our previous Age of Conan coverage, and stick with Massively for more news from the Hyborian Age!
Lineage II NA server merge coming July 8th
Ever since Linage II began allowing server transfers there has been a shift in server populations that was leaving some communities worried. This has prompted NCsoft to announce the merging of a few servers on July 8th to bolster their overall population and ease the growing fears some players were beginning to have about the future of their digital homelands. Population is of course an important issue for any MMO and server merges can sometimes be seen as a bad thing by onlookers. However, NCsoft is assuring everyone that this choice was made purely to maintain healthy communities, something that is arguably one of the most important aspects to an online game.We're also happy to see that NCsoft is covering all their bases and has made an official forum post covering all the important topics about the server merges. If your concerns aren't met by the current forum post don't worry too much. NCsoft has vowed to answer any concerns or inquiries regarding the merges over the coming weeks.[via WarCry]
TomTom / Tele Atlas a done deal, Nokia / NAVTEQ moving in that direction
Coincidence is a funny beast, is it not? On the very same day, releases have been put out touching on both of the major navigation deals that have long since been pending. To kick things off, we've got TomTom and Tele Atlas in quite the celebratory mood, as TomTom intends for Tele Atlas' listing on Euronext Amsterdam and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange "to be terminated as soon as legally possible." Can't blame a brother for wanting what's his, right? Moving on, we're hearing that Nokia will receive clearance from EU regulators "to buy digital map supplier NAVTEQ, as no formal charges are to be levied against the deal." It's also noted that the time for sending a statement of objections has passed, so from the outside looking in, it seems the two can at least move forward with their plans.[Via Washington Post]Read - TomTom / Tele Atlas dealRead - Nokia / NAVTEQ deal
Verizon "in talks" to buy Alltel for $27 billion
Verizon has certainly courted Alltel before, but this time, the two could finally be rounding third base. According to a breaking report at CNBC, Verizon is "in deep in talks to acquire Alltel," which of course is America's fifth largest wireless carrier. It's no secret that Alltel has been riding fairly high of late, and unless your memory is totally shot, you'll likely recall that it was just recently "taken private by TPG and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners in a $27.5 billion deal." Not surprisingly, officials at both outfits refused to comment on the rumblings, but if this does indeed go down, analysts are expecting Verizon to pay around 8x Alltel's current EBITDA, whereas TPG / Goldman Sachs paid 9.2x. We'll keep you posted on any developments.Update: The talks have been confirmed by Vodafone which owns a 45% stake in VZW.
Bulgaria's Evrokom Cable / CableTel apply for merger
Looks like some serious movin' and shakin' is going on in Bulgaria, where the nation's two largest cable operators have just announced their intentions to merge. Reportedly, CableTel and Evrokom Cable have "submitted an application with the Commission for the Protection of Competition," since the merger must obviously be approved before it actually goes down. If everything slides through, the newly created company will be under the FN Cable Holding umbrella, controlled by investment fund WarburgPincus. We're also still left without details about the company's new name and its head honcho, though we're sure all those tidbits will filter out once the wedding gets a tad closer to being ratified.
China to issue 3G licenses, calls for Unicom / Netcom merger
This just in: don't believe anything you hear regarding an official 3G rollout date in China. After quite a bit of rigmarole, the Chinese government has finally announced that it will issue a trio of 3G licenses. Notably, the announcement comes with a bit of baggage -- it's also calling for a merger between China Unicom and Netcom, two of its four biggest telecommunications providers. Furthermore, it stated that it would call on China Telecom, the nation's largest fixed-line carrier, to "purchase Unicom's CDMA network," all leading to a massive shuffle that should position three of the nation's telecom juggernauts to eventually offer high-speed wireless to a staggering 1.3 billion people. Unfortunately (though not unexpectedly), there's no time frame given for implementation, but some analysts are asserting that "a full launch of 3G services is [still] years away." Baby steps are better than no steps, we reckon. [Thanks, James]
HP wants to buy EDS, assure acronym superiority over IBM (update: it's official)
We're not usually too down with enterprise-services action, but it's hard not to notice HP's $12-13B bid to buy out rival Electronic Data Systems. EDS is best remembered for that "Herding Cats" Super Bowl commercial, but things have been rough lately -- the company just posted 62 percent decline in first-quarter profits. Still, EDS remains a leader in technology outsourcing, and HP seems to think that it'll be better able to take down Big Blue's powerhouse services and consulting group if they merge. The deal isn't done yet, but we should know how things go soon.Update: The deal is done. HP confirmed that it's buying EDS for $25 per share or $12.5 billion. EDS will be rebranded, "EDS -- an HP company" in recognition of its own corporate blandness.
Virgin Mobile looking to merge with Helio?
Times haven't been so great at Helio, but it looks like the troubled MVNO could be snapped up by Virgin Mobile. mocoNews did a little digging after Virgin's recent Q1 conference call, and says that the two companies are currently in merger talks. Since both companies use Sprint's network, the tech would be compatible, and the deal would give SK Telecom a way to keep Helio going as it tries to gain a foothold in the US market. Nothing's set in stone yet and the two companies aren't talking, but we'll definitely keep an eye on this one.
Sprint and Clearwire merge next-gen wireless businesses, goes by Clearwire
Well, what do you know? Sometimes even the most repetitive of rumors finally comes true. Barely 12 hours after the Wall Street Journal reported that a deal between Sprint, Clearwire (and just about everyone) else was dangerously close to going down, it seems as if the bottom lines have indeed been signed. Details are pretty light at the moment, but we definitively know that Sprint Nextel Corp. and Clearwire Corp. will be merging their "next-generation wireless broadband businesses to form a new wireless communications company." Quite simply, the new WiMAX-pushing outfit will be called Clearwire, even though Sprint will hold around 51-percent of the firm, while existing Clearwire shareholders will own 27-percent and the new investors will hold 22-percent. New investors? Ah yes, Intel, Google, Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks will collectively invest $3.2 billion in the new company, but that figure is "based on a target price of $20 a share of Clearwire's common stock, and is subject to a post-closing adjustment."[Via CNN]
Yahoo and AOL suddenly close to merging?
Yahoo's done its best to fend off Microsoft's aggressive advances until now, but it suddenly looks like the struggling company might be getting some help -- both the Wall Street Journal and Reuters are reporting that the Yahoo is "closing in" on a deal to merge with Time Warner's AOL division and partner up with Google on search advertising. Yeah, that's pretty major, and it would probably do something about those declining shares Microsoft's been making noise about. The idea is for Time Warner to sell AOL to Yahoo and make a large investment in the new company, which would probably be valued at around $10B. There's apparently a lot of work left to do on the deal, and it would still have to be approved by Yahoo and Time Warner shareholders, but it looks like Yahoo is no longer stuck taking Ballmer and Co. to the dance.[Disclosure: Look up to the right. See that? Yeah, Engadget is owned by AOL -- but trust us, we have no idea what's going on.]Read - WSJ articleRead - Reuters article
Take-Two: More companies want to buy us
Like that hot catholic school girl with a penchant for acting tough, everyone seems to want a piece of Take-Two these days. The Associated Press is reporting on a recent SEC filing in which the company reveals its been approached with a few "informal indications of interest in a business combination" since EA's unsolicited buyout offer earlier this week. It makes sense ... after all, when if the most popular guy in school (read: EA) gets turned down by a relatively popular girl (read: Take-Two), then everyone else suddenly thinks they have a chance with her.Like that goth girl with the spiked choker and way too much black mascara, though, Take-Two is acting like it doesn't want the attention. The filing goes on to say that the company "has not engaged in any substantive discussions with any party (including EA) with respect to a business combination." At least they're being direct about their lack of interest. Everyone knows the best way to ruin a business rep is by being a merger tease.
