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    Comments on: Palm Takeover Rumors Talked Up Yet AgainPretty much every technology related website and blog is recycling yet another highly speculative rumor regarding Palm's imminent sale. Unstrung, citing sources close to the situation, again claims Nokia and Motorola are leading bidders, and private equity firms Texas Pacific Group and Silver Lake Partners are also interested in buying the company. Rumors of this nature have been one of the driving forces moving Palm's share price over the past two years. Late last year Palm CEO Ed Colligan emphatically told reporters that the company is not currently for sale nor had they made any overtures to find a buyer. Palm is due to report its Q3FY07 results and hold its quarterly analyst/investor conference call this Thursday. To date, Palm representatives have refused comment on the rumors, but the issue is sure to come up during the call.
Detailed Comment View (48 Total Comments)
The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. PIC is not responsible for them in any way. login or register for free in order to post comments.  RE: Unstrung: 'Palm buyout could be finalized Thurs'SeldomVisitor @ 3/20/2007 1:08:10 PM #
Giggle. These things always are announced ahead of time with firm dates attached. Giggle. BTW, have you seen: RE: Unstrung: 'Palm buyout could be finalized Thurs'
I think there's mounting evidence that Palm's stock is being manipulated with false rumors. Jim Cramer of CNBC fame even used Palm and RIMM in an example of how stocks could be manipulated with false rumors to reporters. Watch the video and read the NYT article: http://tinyurl.com/32zkpx (video) Here’s how fomenting works, according to Mr. Cramer: Say a hedge fund manager is holding a short position — a bet that a stock will decline — in Research in Motion, which has just announced blockbuster quarterly earnings results. An enterprising fund manager might call several brokerage houses and either feed them bad information or order a slew of short sales. Then he or she could call up a “bozo reporter” with a fake news tip about Resarch in Motion rival Palm. Sound familiar? I wouldn't trust an unnamed, anonymous source in the Unstrung article as reliable, and it sounds like the author of the article is being used as a "bozo reporter" right out of Cramer's scenario... RE: Unstrung: 'Palm buyout could be finalized Thurs'
It's insane isn't it? As if the fact that someone is "close to the situation" makes them credible! More likely, being close gives them an interest in the direction the stock price is going. How far has the NYT sunk that they're parroting this stuff as news? Still, I wonder if the prominence of these rumors will make Palm feel a need to state something more definitive about them. My guess: probably not. RE: Unstrung: 'Palm buyout could be finalized Thurs'
The most ridiculous thing in that article is this anonymous quote:
ORLY? I guess it does all make sense then! Good thing they didn't attribute a face with that. RE: Unstrung: 'Palm buyout could be finalized Thurs'
Poor Hawkins. Here he is, gushing about what great shape Palm is in, how they're finally in control of their own destiny... only to have someone buy them out a few weeks later. (If the rumours are true, which I highly doubt. None of the people being talked up as potential suitors seem like a good match.) Cold hard evidence!
It just doesn't stop, does it? From the Chicago Tribune: Meanwhile, news broke Monday that [Motorola CEO] Zander had canceled a keynote speech at the wireless industry's annual trade show next week. In other words, it could mean anything. Yet this particular snippet is being reported all over the net. CEOs cancel appointments all the time, I imagine. So how does cancelling an appointment next week translate into evidence of a Palm buyout that's meant to be announced this week?
RE: Unstrung: 'Palm buyout could be finalized Thurs'SeldomVisitor @ 3/21/2007 7:56:53 AM #
Because I posted so and have now become an "anonymous source"!
Giggle. 
 New PDA
What outcome is the most likely to produce a new, state of the art pda. Sale to Nokia/Motorola, private equity group, or no sale at all. RE: New PDA
No sale at all. Palm on its own is bound to want to do at *least one more* just to honor its heritage. New owners will scrap whatever the eff isn't *currently* making $$$ and what, in *their* greedy, unimaginative eyes, isn't likely to make money in the *immediate* future. The only thing that would force a new owner to spit out a new PDA is if manufacturing contracts have already been signed and a schedule agreed to. A kill fee might make it too costly to quit, but they could probably negotiate the run down and sell it as a website-only "collector's edition." I'm not going to worry about this. There is still ebay. RE: New PDAjust_little_me @ 3/20/2007 6:36:50 PM #
Hoping for another PDA from Palm is like hoping God/Darwinism will magically produce some more dinosaurs...
RE: New PDA
I don't agree. I think we will definitely see a new bottom and top of the line. If not, how about a 320x480 Treo with a slideout keyboard. RE: New PDAretrospooty @ 3/20/2007 8:00:19 PM #
"What outcome is the most likely to produce a new, state of the art pda. Sale to Nokia/Motorola, private equity group, or no sale at all." None of the above, nor will they make one if there is no sale at all. Handhelds are dead, there will be no more handhelds released from Palm no matter what happens. RE: New PDA
People keep saying this, that handhelds are dead. Why? Is there some law I am not aware of that states you must have a phone intergrated into any new devices? Why is everyone jumping into bed with Cell Phone Carriers? There is a market for handhelds otherwise ASUS would not be introducing a new (non phone) Pocket PC http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Details.aspx?NewsId=20009. If Palm would come out with a TX2, don't you think it would sell rings around this ASUS model? In the company I work for we have HP PocketPC's as well as some more industrial versions being used on a daily basis. These won't be replaced by phones I can guarentee you. I also recently went to one of the CompUSA's that are closing and guess what the employees used for keeping track of the remaining retail, Handspring Visor Deluxes! With all the Wifi in Homes, Offices, and Public areas, why would I want to pay for a data plan when it is already available? I'll upgrade my free phone every year and buy a nice PDA every couple of years. If Palm decides they won't make PDA's any longer then I will cut strings and they will have lost a long time user. RE: New PDA
I read a study last week (I'll try to dig up the link) which said that 75% of smartphone owners also carry a PDA. This number was actually up several percentage points from a couple of years ago. The usual methodology questions "what's a smartphone?" and "is a BlackBerry a PDA?" come up, but the analysis seemed to be pretty clear that PDAs aren't going to zero any time soon. One thing to keep in mind: a large percentage of smartphone users are issued phones by their companies, which they aren't really at liberty to use as their personal devices. For those folks, which makes more sense: buy yet another smartphone so you can have your personal email, games, music collection, etc. on it, or buy a PDA with a nice big screen and Bluetooth radio?
RE: New PDAjust_little_me @ 3/20/2007 11:21:30 PM #
Give it up. Move on. Nothing to see here... If Palm were working on a new PDA/handheld we'd have seen plenty of rumours/pics etc. What have we seen? Nada. Nothing. Besides, I spoke to an unknown source, who coincidentally doesn't have a face either, and he/she/it told me that Palm was clearly focusing on everything EXCEPT non-phone devices. Did I mention there was nothing to see here...?
RE: New PDAretrospooty @ 3/21/2007 9:43:53 AM #
4. Will they produce any new PDAs? NO. 5. Will they get out of the PDA biz altogether? NOT YET I dont know how many times this must be said... Palm is NOT working on any more PDA's, they are not and will not release another one ever. They will however continue to build the ones they currently have as long as they are being sold. When sales dwindle (such as Lifedrive), Palm PDA's die completely. RE: New PDABaalthazaaR @ 3/21/2007 9:45:31 AM #
Well May is not too far away, I can wait until they make that stupid announcement. If it is a stupid product idea, I'll just stock up on backup TXs and bye bye Palm from then on. RE: New PDA
>>>It's called PROGRESS. Adapt or die, dinosaur.
No it's not. It's called what it's always been called. Palm Stupidity.
Questions about the Takeover
1. Who is most likely to buy Palm? Moto? Nokia? Other? RE: Questions about the Takeoverjust_little_me @ 3/20/2007 11:28:21 PM #
1. Other 2. Everything will remain as-is in terms of branding etc. 3. Everything will remain as-is in terms of OS's 4. No!! 5. Yes!!
RE: Questions about the Takeover
Why is everyone got their dander up over non-connected PDAs? Just turn the phone off on you Treo and you're done. Pat Horne RE: Questions about the Takeover
>>>Why is everyone got their dander up over non-connected PDAs? Just turn the phone off on you Treo and you're done. Done is right! No on-screen G. A terrible small screen (buy a fekkin TE2 then!). Goddam unneeded keyboard. Fekkin protruding antenna. Must I move on to *price*? RE: Questions about the Takeover
I lack humor when it comes to rumors of no more PalmOS PDAs, dammit.
Ed, Donna & Jeff Dumping Stock, Options
Check these out: http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0001100389 Looks like somebody's bailing out.... RE: Ed, Donna & Jeff Dumping Stock, Options
Looks like somebody's bailing out.... Those are regularly scheduled sales that have been going on for quite some time, regardless of stock price. It's a common practice when you have options that may expire or have a considerable portion of your wealth as shares in the company that you founded. It doesn't mean they're bailing out. Bailing out would be dumping large chunks of shares or options in a very short period of time. RE: Ed, Donna & Jeff Dumping Stock, OptionsSeldomVisitor @ 3/21/2007 7:58:22 AM #
Dubinsky and Hawkins are "bailing out" if you want to label selling off their PALM holdings (pure stock, not options) as such. Were I they I'd bail, too, simply because they are no longer in control of their own PALM-destiny. Colligan appears to be exercising options that he must exercise NOW even though they expire in a year or two because he has so many and is limited to how much he can sell (per week?) - takes a LONG time to exercise options when ya got a gajillion of them (Tahnks, shareholders!). I don't consider any of these to be sinister, however, and I'm a PALM-pessimist. RE: Ed, Donna & Jeff Dumping Stock, Optionsbuckeyetex315-2 @ 3/21/2007 3:23:35 PM #
I agree with ballistic. Although Ed did make at least a cool $1.2 million on his options pre-tax. Pretty nice having options at $0.285 and selling them betwteen $15 and $18 each.
Jeff Hawkins also still owns 2.2 million shares of stock. His trust selling a hundred thousand shares or so is just diverisification. Brent
Thursday-a-go-gosurfmaniac @ 3/21/2007 1:43:15 PM #
Look for an announcement very soon, if not tomorrow during the earnings call. Whether or not it's good for this company's long term prospects, a deal is going to be done at around 22 bucks a share (and that might be on the low side.)
RE: Thursday-a-go-go
Shut up with the $22 crap! I'm about to close the deal!
RE: Thursday-a-go-gojust_little_me @ 3/21/2007 5:59:14 PM #
David, I'm closer to closing it than you... and I'm prepared to go to $25! :)
Pump and dump baby, pump and dump...!
New Mess for Motorola
Does this really sound like a company ready to make another $2billion dollar takeover?
The struggling Schaumburg, Ill., tech titan said it will post an unexpected loss for the quarter, due to the continued struggles of its handset unit. Motorola also shook up management and set plans for a big share repurchase. RE: New Mess for MotorolaSeldomVisitor @ 3/21/2007 7:24:41 PM #
Sigh. Note that they also said they had all the assets they needed in the mobile devices group. That Cramer video is an absolute must see - it explains EXACTLY what has been happening since February. Note, part II - the rumors, having been quashed unexpectedly by this MOT revelation, ar now being changed to "PALM will be acquired soon" rather than tomorrow AM. Be Careful Out There! Cramer, regardless what you think of him as a person, knows the hedge fund business well. RE: New Mess for Motorola
well said. This palm for sale meme and the recent engadget treo wimax rumor is undoubtedly stock/hedge fund manipulation. Unstrung and Reuters should be wacked by the SEC for this stunt. RE: New Mess for MotorolaSeldomVisitor @ 3/22/2007 6:43:59 AM #
CNBC apparently "reported" that Motorola and PALM were going to get together THIS MORNING. If it doesn't happen THAT'S the one to whack! (of course, CNBC has always been the one to whack - as the Cramer video overtly notes - "Give a call to Pisani" is a standard hedge fund technique! (might have misssssspelled that name...) RE: New Mess for Motorola
And to think just about 2-3 weeks ago I was not six feet away from Cramer in NYC. Had that video come out earlier, I would have taken the opportunity to spit on him! RE: New Mess for Motorola
But then, really, they're ALL bloody crooks, aren't they?
Time to warm up those nice lampposts again. (Winding up Gekko!)
Palm: Hello Moto
Palm Takeover Speculation Heats Up Ahead Of Earnings Report
Palm shares recently rose 2.7% to $19.28. Rumors over Palm's acquisition have surrounded the company since the beginning of the year, rehabilitating a stock that hit a year-low in December. Most recently, an unnamed Palm shareholder told CNBC Wednesday that he expected Motorola Inc. (MOT) and Palm to announce a deal before Palm reports its results. Spokesmen for Palm and Motorola each declined to comment on the speculation. Motorola recently fell 2.1% to $18.43. The shareholder told CNBC that Motorola could pay as much as $25 a share, and that the deal would immediately add to earnings given Palm's cash flow. For Motorola, Palm would give the company a recognized and trusted brand in smartphones, an area in which the world's No. 2 handset maker has struggled in. The companies use compatible wireless technology and mobile operating system. They also have similarly strong relationships with the U.S. carriers. On Tuesday, Motorola said its chief executive, Ed Zander, was pulling out of his keynote speech at next week's CTIA Wireless trade show, further fueling the speculation. Another possible bidder is Nokia Corp. (NOK). But a deal with the world's largest handset maker is complicated by differing technology and the use of rival operating system. Nokia recently rose 0.7% to $22.29. Also in the mix are two private equity firms, both of which would value Palm for its cash flow. Palm's total current liabilities are $488.9 million, and it has $518.4 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, through its fiscal second quarter ended Nov. 30. -By Roger Cheng, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2020; roger.cheng@dowjones.com RE: Palm: Hello Motojust_little_me @ 3/21/2007 11:11:33 PM #
Did anyone listen to the Moto earnings call?? Ed Zander stated quite emphatically that the pullout from CTIA was due to a personal family issue that he did not want to discuss further. However, the guys nicely side-stepped/ignored a question relating to Palm purchase... maybe that's part of a corporate "don't speculate on rumours", or maybe it's more sinister... bwa ha haha...!
RE: Palm: Hello MotoSeldomVisitor @ 3/22/2007 6:46:58 AM #
> ...Most recently, an unnamed Palm shareholder told CNBC Wednesday > that he expected Motorola Inc. (MOT) and Palm to announce a deal > before Palm reports its results... As noted elsewhere "Give a call to Pisani [at CNBC]" was noted by Cramer as a standard hedge fund technique. Hey! Guess what type of entity is a (recent) major PALM stockholder!? Giggle. RE: Palm: Hello Moto
what a difference a year makes. Zander is gone and Motorola is desperately trying to SELL and get out of the handset business. rumors are BS. the world is filled with idiots, liars, and thieves - all with their own hidden agenda.
RE: Thinking outside the box
You may miss him, but have you noticed all the new contributors we have here since he's been gone for a while? It's like a garden blooming after years of being scorched with a flamethrower. And we're not talking Palm fanboys, either. Just adults who prefer to interact with other adults. Most of the new commenters seem to have plenty of good civil criticism and questioning about Palm's future, just without all the anal sex references. I can sure live with that! David Beers Pikesoft Mobile Computing www.pikesoft.com/blog RE: Thinking outside the boxsurfmaniac @ 3/22/2007 4:42:54 PM #
I agree wholeheartedly... and nominate you, Mister Cervezas, as president of this board (and that is not sarcasm...)
Motorola can't find a buyer for its handset business
Market Dispatches2/22/2008 1:00 PM ET The cell-phone maker reportedly can't find a buyer for its handset business. A Merrill Lynch exec says M&A business will be slow in the coming months. A million-dollar 'record' sale on eBay. Things aren't connecting at Motorola (MOT, news, msgs). The cell-phone company is having trouble finding a buyer for its handset business, The Wall Street Journal reported. Earlier this month, Motorola said it was exploring options, including a possible sale of the disappointing business, but rivals Nokia (NOK, news, msgs), Samsung Electronicsand LG Electronics are not interested, the paper wrote. "I think going public with its intentions hasn't made it easier to find a solution and has raised doubts about Motorola's commitment to the business," said Ittai Kidron, an analyst at Oppenheimer & Co., to The Wall Street Journal. Shares of Motorola were unchanged at $11.28 in midday trading. Shares have fallen 40% over the past year.
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http://unstrung.com/document.asp?doc_id=119786
Should make for an interesting conference call, anyway!
David Beers
Pikesoft Mobile Computing
www.pikesoft.com/blog