Ex-Apple trio fails to shine

Many start-ups don't have profits when they go public. Some don't even have any significant revenue to speak of. But Acquicor took things a step further. It didn't even have a business.

The company, launched by three former Apple executives, was what's known as a blank-check company. Rather than have a business plan, such firms instead ask investors to bet on their management's track record, in this case that of former Apple CEO Gil Amelio, company co-founder Steve Wozniak, and former CTO Ellen Hancock.

Still, that was enough to land the company more than $160 million in a stock offering. The prospectus for Acquicor noted that at the time Wozniak was the head of a start-up known as Wheels of Zeus. It made no mention, however, of any financial woes, though Wheels of Zeus closed its doors the same week Acquicor went public. I asked Acquicor at the time to comment on the omission, but never heard back.

Acquicor eventually did find its target--a chip foundry known as Jazz Semiconductor, a spinoff of Conexant Systems, itself the former Rockwell Semiconductor.

The bet, however, has so far produced a dismal return, notes Fortune's Adam Lashinksy. He notes that the company gets most of its money selling chips to wireless firms that have been having tough times.

Investors in Acquicor have also been having tough times. Its stock, which was went public at $6 a share, closed on Tuesday at 70 cents.

Last month, the company, now known by the name Jazz Technologies, said it was seeking "strategic alternatives" and had hired UBS to figure out what those might be.

So what of the three founders? Lashinsky notes that Hancock stepped down as president (and from the Jazz board) in June 2007 while Wozniak has also abdicated his unpaid role as "chief visionary officer."

In announcing her departure, Hancock said in a statement, "I am pleased to have achieved the goal we set when we formed Acquicor as a blank check company, which was to find a viable business to acquire that showed great promise and potential for success."

Amelio remains the CEO of Jazz, earning a salary of $600,000 per year, according to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

[AppleExpert]

Tragic Trio

The names Gil Amelio and Ellen Helen should have been BIG
warning signs to investors to run the other way. Gil Amelio?! Can
anyone say "Golden Parachute"? Neither did anything good for
Apple except help almost run it into the ground.

Yes Steve Wozniak developed the first "Woz" chip, but after that?

[open-mind]

Gil Didn't Run Apple Into The Ground

Apple was already pretty much ruined by the time Gil took over. Remember Scully and Spindler?

Gil was brought to Apple as the so-called turn-aound expert. He didn't really turn it around, but to some extent, Gil did help save it. Apple was almost bankrupt, and Gil helped get Apple's finances in order. And Gil started the discussions with Steve Jobs that resulted in the purchase of NeXT and the ultimate return of Steve Jobs. At the time, many criticized the NeXT decision, thinking Be Inc would have been a better choice. In retrospect, probably not.

Gil may be a swaggering, overbearing, tin-plated CEO with delusions of god-hood, but he's not the ruin of Apple. He's just a typical CEO.

[Yakk35]

Gil Amelio!!!!

Gil Amelio!!!! Anyone who saw that name and invested a dime deserves to lose their money.

[ottojschlosser]

Wrong place for Gil

I worked for Gil in the 90s -- he has a lot to offer a struggling company, but his skill set is not what I would want for anything to do with startups.

[sipeter]

April fool's day?

As I started to read this story, I had to check the date. Was it
April Fool?s Day? Who in their right mind would sink money
into something--ANYTHING--headed up by Gil Amelio and
Ellen Hancock? Remember, this is the duo that ranked a 10 on
the Gilometer.

As the old saying goes, a fool and his money are soon parted.

Gil and Ellen need to retire.

[ewelch]

I have to agree

After all his whining about how Steve Jobs shouldn't have thrown
him out - and Apple's following success proves Amelio didn't
know what he was doing.

The ex-IBMer Ellen Hancock, who I believe had a lot to do with
the business decisions that lead to OS/2 never taking off is
significant too.

Woz, whose track record with his RFID tracking of kids and pets
(Wheels of Zeus) and his universal remote controls (not to
mention his financially failed concerts) would have give me
pause as well.

Those are not three people I would have trusted to cover a beer
run, let alone millions of dollars of investment funds.

[rbanffy]

How did they dupe Woz into it?

I only wonder what did Gil Amelio, the guy who almost ruined Apple, say to Woz (who is a really clever guy who doesn't really have to worry too much about work) to convince him to enter the company.

[xsmillions]

Gil's Theme: "A fool and his money are soon parted..."

Apparently nobody in the consumer side of the tech industry wants to have much to do with him, so Gil is plundering the manufacturing side again. Unfortunately, there is no Steve Jobs around to bring back and bail out Acquicor. I'm guessing that the investors in this little dalliance were the remnant investors who didn't lose ALL of their money in the tech bubble, and now they're finishing the job :) At least that we can count on some deep discounts for used office fixtures and servers again!

[lkrupp]

Understand now?

Does everyone now, finally, understand why Steve Jobs runs Apple
and not Woz, Gil, Helen, or "The Diesel", or Scully? Nuff said.