takeover
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FTC still curious about EA's proposed Take-Two takeover
The US Federal Trade Commission is seemingly still curious about EA's takeover plans, as it has sent the persistent publisher a second request for information regarding its proposed Take-Two encroachment. While the Madden house insists the transaction "would not be anti-competitive," the FTC has not yet reached the same (or any) conclusion. The most recent development in the corporate courtship saw EA extending the deadline of its $26-per-share tender offer, which the current Take-Two management had deemed "inadequate." With the offer expiring tomorrow and the Grand Theft Auto publisher concluding its annual stockholder meeting today, we'll soon learn whether the takeover has any chance of taking off.
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]
Eidos 'needs to be more ruthless,' says SCi CEO
SCi Entertainment Group CEO Phil Rogers, whose company owns Eidos, said the publishing company needs to lose its ruth, so to speak. Speaking to MCV, Rogers said, "In today's environment of lengthening development cycles and increasing costs, we need to be more ruthless and focus on our quality titles."Rogers also said that, on a whole, Eidos has released "too many average games which are tying up resources." We think Rogers is either really pushing for a new company direction or he's using tough words to drive up stock prices further for an oft-speculated takeover. In either sense, if he keeps to his word (that's a big "if"), it bodes well for secret project T.
Yahoo responds to Microsoft ultimatum: more money please
As expected, Yahoo has responded to Microsoft's 3 week ultimatum this morning. The bottom line is pretty clear in a letter signed by Jerry Yang (CEO) and Roy Bostock (chairman). In the "Dear Steve" response to Ballmer they state, "we will not allow you or anyone else to acquire the company for anything less than its full value." They go on to state that, "We consider your threat to commence an unsolicited offer and proxy contest to displace our independent Board members to be counterproductive and inconsistent with your stated objective of a friendly transaction." Make no mistake about it, this is corporate war and will likely end with Yahoo's best engineers working for Google.
High-Def Digest, High Def Forum acquired by Internet Brands
A couple of sites you probably frequent daily have just been scooped up by Internet Brands, Inc.: High-Def Digest and High Def Forum. Apparently neither site will undergo any major changes, as IB is enabling the pair to remain as standalone entities with new administration. In the coming weeks, both destinations will be migrated to speedier, more robust servers, and there's open threads established for avid users to discuss any questions they may have about the each acquisition.[Via Format War Central]Read - High-Def Digest's announcementRead - High Def Forum's announcement
Pachter: Take-Two's rejection of EA offer a mistake
Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter jumped right on Take-Two's dismissal of EA's buyout offer and says it was "ill advised." GameDaily reprints Pachter's analysis in which he goes point by point over how, in his opinion, Take-Two's board screwed up. He believes the company was positioned to get even more money out of EA if it had offered a "friendly transaction" instead of continuing its "adversarial posture."Pachter believes that if Take-Two is holding out for more money following the release of Grand Theft Auto IV, the tactic is "naive at best, and disingenuous at worst." He states that GTA IV's sales will not ultimately impact the value of the company and that EA's $26 per share offer was done even with GTA IV sales in mind. Pachter goes on to say that if EA doesn't get controlling interesting of Take-Two with its tender offer, it will withdraw the offer and Take-Two's stock will take a 20% hit. He surmises the drop will be even worse if the market doesn't presume EA to be taking a walk around the block before picking up Take-Two later.
Iomega warming to revised EMC takeover bid
Just a week ago, Iomega turned up its nose at an offer from EMC to buyout the firm for $3.25 per share. Now, however, it's singing a somewhat different tune as EMC has struck back with an entirely more succulent offer of $3.75 per share. Said bid puts a $205.5 million value on Iomega -- based on the 54.8 million shares it has outstanding -- and now it's being reported that "Iomega will enter into discussions with EMC that could lead to a definitive acquisition proposal." Go on you two, don't hold back on those feelings any longer.
Logitech CEO shrugs off Microsoft takeover rumors, causing more rumors
We've heard nothing since January when the first rumors broke of a Logitech buyout by Microsoft. In fact, the rumor mill has been so quiet that we nearly forgot about the prospect. Now Logitech CEO, Guerrino De Luca, told an Italian newspaper over the weekend that a Microsoft takeover would be "an operation without sense." Kind of like a MicroHoo after all the engineers quit to join Google, eh Geurrino? He says that, "without competition Logitech would lose the great pressure to innovate. Moreover there would be problems from antitrust authorities seeing as the two companies together would have a virtual global monopoly in mice and keyboards." Come to think of it, that sounds more like a warning to Microsoft to think twice about making a hostile takeover bid than it does a flat denial of rumors. As usual, having officially commented on the rumor only serves to perpetuate speculation. [Via GamesIndustry]
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.
Rumor: EA eyeing Ubisoft takeover next?
Take this one with some mountainous mounds of salt, but a suspicious web site registration has some buzzing that EA might be considering a Take Two-style takeover bid for Ubisoft as its next potential expansion move. A poster over at Gamecyte noticed that a proxy registration for eaubisoft.com was set up by the same company on the same day as the registration for eatake2.com, the lobbying site created to convince Take Two shareholders to accept the company's unsolicited takeover bid (it did not succeed).Of course, with proxy registration, it's impossible to know whether it was EA that actually registered the second site or if it's just the act of an overzealous domain camper. Still, given the close proximity of the registrations and the fact that EA already owns close to 25 percent of the voting shares in Ubisoft , the circumstantial evidence that EA was at least considering a move is significant (it wouldn't be the first such takeover attempt, either).Ubisoft for its part, is focusing on license acquisition to spur its own growth in light of the Take Two offer. You know what they say ... when a bear like EA is chasing you, you don't have to be faster than the bear, just faster than the guy you're running with.
Yahoo! officially spurns Microsoft's advances
Just in case you misunderstood the news from Yahoo!, they don't want Microsoft's money, help, time, or friendship. Officially. In a somewhat related story, Jerry Yang says he's also not interested in a week-long round of brunching with Steve Ballmer. No word yet on whether he's game for a dinner date and coffee with Sergey Brin.
Microsoft to buy Logitech?
A rumor swirling about the bowels of the Internets says that Microsoft is about to launch a takeover bid for Swiss-based Logitech. If true, Microsoft, the largest software house in the world would become the world's largest maker of webcams, mice and other peripheral devices. Share prices are surging on speculation that Microsoft will make a takeover bid valued at 48 francs per share, a 38% premium over yesterday's closing price. Our take? We're pretty skeptical. Both companies have been extraordinarily successful without each other. And at first take, the union seems to offer neither company any advantage in the market. Perhaps the rumor mill confused Logitech with Japan's Logitec -- that would make perfect sense. Yeah.[Thanks, Khattab]
Comcast and Insight complete midwest transition
Just as expected, Comcast and Insight Communications have wrapped up the so-called "Insight Midwest Transaction." With the completion, Comcast now owns 100-percent of the cable systems serving Illinois customers in Rockford / Dixon, Quincy / Macomb, Springfield, Peoria and Champaign / Urbana as well as Indiana customers in Bloomington, Anderson, and Lafayette / Kokomo. It was also noted that Insight has full ownership of cable systems in Louisville, Lexington, Bowling Green and Covington, Kentucky along with those in Evansville, Indiana and Columbus, Ohio. Considering just how much area this deal covers, we've all ideas a reader or two has been affected one way or another -- if that's you, drop us a comment and let us know how things are faring, would you?
Comcast swallowing Insight in Greater Lafayette, Indiana area
For 69,000 cable subscribers in the Greater Lafayette, Indiana area, December 31st will be the last day you tune into cable provided by Insight Communications. As of January 1, 2008, Comcast will be taking over hordes of customers in the Lafayette-Attica-Kokomo markets and surrounding areas, but according to Comcast spokesman Mark Apple, there won't be any "immediate changes." It was noted that no price hikes would be throw in initially, but due to promises of extra HD programming and HD VOD, we can't imagine those bills staying flat for too long. Additionally, Comcast still hasn't worked out a deal to carry the Big Ten Network, which will certainly present a problem considering the proximity of Purdue / Indiana. From the outside looking in, this takeover looks like a mixed bag, but if Comcast finally figures out a way to carry the Big Ten Network and offer up more HD options at a reasonable price, we suppose things would look quite a bit better.
Blizzard rolled into Activision Blizzard mega-publisher [Updated]
In a HUGE news story that we were quite unprepared to have fall into our laps on a lazy Sunday morning, it's been announced that Activision and Vivendi Games have signed a major agreement to the tune of $18.8 billion, that will see the two mega-publishing houses rolled into a company to be known as Activision Blizzard, which will collectively have the biggest and most expansive portfolio of game titles of any company to date - even surpassing rival Electronic Arts in sheer size and scope.According to the terms of the agreement, Vivendi Games will be merged into Activision as a wholly owned subsidiary, and Vivendi Games stock will be turned into Activision common stock. We're not financial analysts nor are we fluent in legalese, so its difficult for us to interpret the exact terms of the deal, but Vivendi will come out of the merger as a 68% owner of the newly formed company. There's no indication yet if the merger will have any bearing on Blizzard's current or future development plans, though it seems likely that there is going to be a change as the management at the highest levels of the company will have a different face to it.For some quotes from the parties involved, and our reaction, follow us after the jump.
Robotic cockroaches influence, exploit living clans
Strangely enough, we've seen robotic roaches in action before, but a new report focusing on nature's influence on mechanical creatures substantiates some of our worse fears. Apparently, a team of researchers led by Jose Halloy of the University Libre de Bruxelles in Belgium crafted "cockroach-sized robots that interacted with their living counterparts." The critters themselves did not actually resemble cockroaches, but they were doused with chemicals to mimic the authentic aroma; subsequently, these autonomous pests were able to persuade a clan of real roaches to choose a poor (light) shelter over a dark alternative, sparking worry that humanoids may one day use these very tactics to lead us straight to our demise. On the real, the gurus behind the research are looking at the trials to "explore decision-making mechanisms in group-living animals," which when you think about, really isn't any less frightening.[Image courtesy of ETHZ]
Garmin challenges TomTom with $3.3 billion bid for Tele Atlas
Man, it must feel mighty fantastic to be Tele Atlas right about now. Not even a month after TomTom finalized a whopping $2.5 billion offer to take the map maker over, Garmin -- which currently relies on NAVTEQ maps -- has come out swinging with a staggering $3.3 billion bid of its own. As expected, Tele Atlas is now taking a good hard look at both offers and examining its options, and some analysts are even suggesting that a bidding war could take the figure even higher. 'Course, such a conjecture is easy to make when TomTom has already proclaimed that it would reply in some way "in the near future." Bust out the blank checks -- this one could get ugly (or very pretty, if you're a Tele Atlas shareholder).
Wokka wokka wokka: Acer to acquire Gateway to acquire Packard Bell
The rumor was spot-on: Gateway has delivered a binding offer to acquire all shares of PB Holding Company S.à.r.l. from Lap Shun (John) Hui and Clifford Holdings Limited. If approved, Acer would nab themselves an improved foothold in Europe as part of their acquisition of Gateway announced back in August. Final regulatory approvals for the three-way love-in are expected before the end of the year or Q1 at the latest.
TomTom reacts to Nokia -- formalizes offer for Tele Atlas
Just one day after Nokia offered $8 billion for NAVTEQ, TomTom is in the news with a formal offer for Tele Atlas. Of course, TomTom had already announced their intent to offer €21.25 per share (about $2.56 billion) for the map maker back in July -- the same amount tendered today. Back then the offer represented a sweet 32% premium over the average Tele Atlas share price. However, Tele Atlas is now trading above the offer price thanks to speculation caused by the Nokia deal. We say hold out for more Tele Atlas. Just hint at discussions with Nokia or Garmin and we're pretty sure TomTom will up the ante.[Thanks, SmartDust]
Leap says "no thanks" to MetroPCS buyout offer
Ooh, in your face, MetroPCS! Leap Wireless has rejected a multi-billion dollar stock swap proposed by its fellow regional carrier a couple weeks ago, citing... well, to be brief, a bum deal. MetroPCS was looking to trade each share of Leap for 2.75 shares of its own stock, a formula that actually values Leap at about $4.7 billion -- significantly below the $5.3 billion pegged the day merger discussions kicked off. Leap CEO Doug Hutcheson officially responded to the offer today, bluntly stating that it "dramatically undervalues" his company while citing Leap's strong growth, its prospects for future buildouts, and MetroPCS' infrastructure troubles in New York and Los Angeles as reasons why his shareholders deserve more bang for their buck. That being said, Hutcheson left room for further discussions; an eventual deal makes sense, considering that the two carriers' combined footprint would approximate that of a national carrier. Can MetroPCS pony up the requisite cash to be taken seriously here?
