Corporate stuff

Best Buy founder and ousted chairman Richard Schulze has, as expected, submitted a proposal to acquire the brick-and-mortar retailer.

Under the terms of the deal, Schulze, who owns about 20 percent of Best Buy already, would pay between $24 and $26 per share in cash to the company to acquire the outstanding shares he doesn't own. If Best Buy were to accept the offer, the company would score a premium of 36 percent to 47 percent on its Friday closing price of $17.64.

If Schulze gets his way, he'll take Best Buy from the stock market and … Read more

Nintendo's financial troubles just keep coming.

The venerable game maker announced (PDF) today that it generated 84.8 billion yen (about $1.08 billion) in revenue during the three-month period ended June 30, representing a 9.7 percent decline from the 93.9 billion yen it secured in sales during the same period last year. The company was forced to incur a net loss of 17.2 billion yen ($220 million), which, while disconcerting, was actually better than the 25.5 billion yen figure from last year.

Nintendo's financial position becomes even more concerning when one considers its … Read more

Would you invest in a fund that bases its trades on the patterns of the moon? In a move unlikely to be espoused in any Business 101 class, lots of people already have.

They're sinking their dollars into the Superstitious Fund, a one-year experiment that invites the public to invest in the stock market via an uncanny trading algorithm. The automated bot trades live against the FTSE 100 index on the London Stock Exchange predicated purely on numerology and astrology. … Read more

LG Display is under fire after it was revealed yesterday that six employees were charged with stealing technology from Samsung Display.

According to the Associated Press, six of LG Display's workers and accomplices allegedly stole OLED technology between 2010 and 2011. Samsung charges that LG Display also attempted to steal its employees for its own gain.

All told, 11 people were charged in South Korea in connection with the alleged crime, including three people working at Samsung Display.

For its part, LG Display has denied all wrongdoing and told Bloomberg in an e-mailed statement yesterday that the only information … Read more

Best Buy has decided to cut down the number of employees working in its Geek Squad division.

The company confirmed to Minneapolis-St. Paul news station KARE 11 last night that it will lay off 650 Geek Squad workers nationwide. The company told the news outlet that it will offer the affected employees severance, and will aid them in finding new jobs.

Some of those jobs might be within Best Buy itself. KARE 11 says that the last day for Geek Squad employees will be August 1, assuming they don't find another job outside or even inside the company before … Read more

The Apple Store has become an educational case on what to do right in the retail sector. And it appears Best Buy has taken notice.

The retailer is testing out a new prototype that cuts down on floor space and uses a help desk, run by Best Buy's Geek Squad, as the focal point of the company's layout. The Geek Squad desk allows customers to ask questions and handle issues. According to The Wall Street Journal, which took a tour, the desk closely resembles Apple's Genius Bar.

According to the Journal, that's not all Best Buy … Read more

Rovio's success has spawned a host of unauthorized products across China bearing the Angry Birds name. But that doesn't mean the company wants to get into a legal spat over it.

Speaking to Reuters in an interview today, Rovio marketing chief Peter Vesterbacka acknowledged that a new market has cropped up in China with the sole purpose of capitalizing on the Angry Birds franchise without paying licensing. And although his company has, in some cases, used legal means to stop it, in many others, it has decided to turn those operations into partners.

"We tend to want … Read more

The fate of 38 Studios' video games -- and the company's debt -- may now rest in Rhode Island's hands.

The video game company run by former Red Sox star Curt Schilling filed for bankruptcy, with plans to liquidate, Reuters reported today.

The news comes shortly after 38 Studios laid off nearly all of its staff and lost its funding from Rhode Island. The state's officials, hoping the video game company would bring in more jobs, had given 38 Studios a $75 million loan guarantee.

The company, which released the well-regarded "Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning," … Read more

No Doubt's lawsuit against Activision is going to be heard by a jury.

The pop rock band sued gaming giant Activision in 2009 on allegations that the company's game Band Hero lets players convert the avatars "into a virtual karaoke circus act." The case has been ongoing ever since, and today Superior Court Judge Ramona See ruled that the decision will now be up to a jury, according to the Associated Press.

The lawsuit was first brought when No Doubt claimed that Activision didn't tell the pop musicians that players would be able to unlock … Read more