mergers-acquisitions

As Yahoo's Bartz eyes new CFO, Microsoft isn't worried

When Yahoo's new CEO Carol Bartz met with company Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen nearly two weeks ago, she delivered him a pink slip, sources said.

And while Bartz has not given any indications of a front-runner CFO replacement, the expectation is it will be a candidate from the outside and, hopefully, soon, said sources familiar with Yahoo's thinking.

"The CFO position will be her decision to make, not the board's. She'll have an opportunity to build her own management team," said one source.

Microsoft, meanwhile, does not expect Yahoo's CFO search, nor … Read more

Report: Ballmer still interested in Yahoo search

Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer reiterated his interest in landing a search deal with Yahoo during a midyear strategic update with analysts Tuesday, according to a CNBC report.

But while Ballmer is apparently willing to re-engage in a dialogue with Yahoo regarding a potential search deal, the software giant has been "rebuffed and ignored" by Yahoo's new CEO, Carol Bartz, on any overtures it has made to initiate discussions, said a CNBC reporter, citing anonymous sources.

Yahoo was up 5 percent to $12.57 a share in pre-market trading.

Yahoo, meanwhile, apparently is operating without a top … Read more

Lenovo flips on the Switchbox

Lenovo has acquired a small start-up headed by a former Microsoft executive.

Switchbox Labs is based in Seattle and was founded by Michael Sievert, Robert Dickinson, and Blake Ramsdell. Sievert left his position as Windows Mobile marketing executive last February. All three will join Lenovo, and Sievert will become a senior vice president reporting directly to Lenovo chief executive Bill Amelio.

Switchbox focuses on "developing consumer technologies." Beyond that, little is known about the company. Its projects are "confidential," according to Lenovo, but it's expected that the technologies developed will be integrated into future Lenovo … Read more

M&A prospects better for small companies, new media

Two reports released this week shed some light on just what types of technology sector merger and acquisition deals are expected to show resiliency in 2009. Among the winners: small companies and nontraditional media companies.

Technology M&A deals fell 17 percent to 3,751 transactions in 2008 over the previous year, according to a report released Friday by ICON Corporate Finance. But small technology deals of under $100 million fared better, posting only a 15 percent decline.

These smaller deals, which account for 95 percent of all IT mergers and acquisitions, are expected to show more resiliency in … Read more

Report: Investment group teeing up Yahoo deal

Update January 8 at 12:44 p.m. PST: Added Yahoo's response.

A group of investors are reportedly putting together a buyout deal for Yahoo, which would call for Microsoft's financial backing, according to a report in TechCrunch.

Such an arrangement would call for the investment group to pay a premium of approximately 20 percent to Yahoo's current share price, which closed Wednesday at $13 a share, for the entire company.

The investment group would take Yahoo, which would have a $20 billion market cap under those terms, and simultaneously sell its search and marketing business to … Read more

Tech M&A down 40 percent in 2008

Technology companies seeking a white-night buyer had a long wait this year, according to a study released Thursday by research firm The 451 Group. And 2009 isn't looking any more promising.

During 2008, tech mergers and acquisitions fell 40 percent across virtually every sector of the industry, with $290 billion in deals getting done to date. And deals worth $1 billion or more dropped even further, with only 32 megadeals getting done so far this year, compared with 80 last year.

Corporate tech titans that have historically had a large appetite for snapping up companies left and right went … Read more

AeA and ITAA to merge

Mimicking a larger technology industry consolidation trend, the American Electronics Association and Information Technology Association of America trade groups announced on Tuesday plans to merge lobbying efforts.

The AeA-ITAA deal, aiming to create a stronger industry advocacy voice in Washington, D.C. and provide a greater breadth of technology sector-specific programs, is expected to close by the end of the year. The combined group, to be known as the Technology Association of America, is expected to have approximately 2,000 member companies.

Sun's largest investor lands two board seats

Update at 9:27 a.m. PST, with comments from a shareholder activist research firm. Correction, 9:35 a.m. PST: This story initially had the incorrect day the agreement was announced. It is Monday. Update at 1:33 p.m. PST, with closing stock price and excerpt from Southeastern podcast about its board seats.

Sun Microsystems and its largest investor announced an agreement on Monday that entitles the investor to nominate two directors to Sun's board, marking the latest action it has taken to right the struggling company.

Southeastern Asset Management, which holds a 22 percent stake in … Read more

Five reasons Sun won't be acquired

Sun Microsystems last week launched its second major restructuring for the year--with good reason.

The company posted a sizable $1.68 billion net loss in its fiscal first quarter last month, amid a 7 percent decline in revenue, as its traditional business of high- to midrange servers running on Sparc processors took a hit. Add to that a steep sell-off of its stock over the past 12 months, falling from about $25 a share earlier in the year to close at $3.02 a share on Friday.

For the embattled tech titan that's lost its allure over the years, … Read more