Tag Archives: Microsoft Corp

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Apple, Google Still Top Smartphone Market

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By 24/7 Wall St.

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In a refrain we’ve all heard more than once already, research firm comScore Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) reported today that the U.S. market share leader among smartphone manufacturers is Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and the leader in operating system platform market share is Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG). No big surprises there.

On a rolling average basis for the months of November, December, and January, Apple claims 37.8% of the handset market, up 3.5% from its October 2012 average of 34.3%. Samsung Electronics finished second, up 1.9% in January, from 19.5% to 21.4%. HTC Corp., Motorola (now part of Google), and LG Electronics rounded out the top five, with only LG posting a small (0.3%) share gain.

On the platform side, Google’s Android operating system took the top spot with a 52.3% share, down from 53.6% in October. Apple’s iOS platform picked up 3.5% in market share, to move from a 34.3% share to a 37.8% share. Apple took share from each of the top five platform providers: Google, BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY), Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Symbian. Only Apple and Google posted double-digit market shares.

The U.S. release of BlackBerry’s new operating system and touchscreen handset is set for next week, but any impact won’t show up until the March report which is due in April. The news is not so good for Microsoft, which had high hopes for its Windows Phone 8 platform.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Consumer Electronics, PC Companies, Research, Technology Companies, Telecom Tagged: AAPL, BBRY, GOOG, MSFT, SCOR

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Google Android Antitrust Problem as It Replaces Windows

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By 24/7 Wall St.

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Two things happened very recently that might halt the adoption of Google Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) Android operating system, which is used in the majority of smartphones around the world. The first is that the China Academy of Telecommunication Research voiced concerns about the ubiquity of the Android OS among phones sold in the People’s Republic. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, the organization stated that, “Chinese enterprises have generally used Android as a foundation to optimize and develop [products].”

The other involves Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and its long-standing fight with the European Union over the dissemination of its browser. The EU has continued to insist the Microsoft has failed to make other browsers readily available on its Windows OS. The Financial Times reports that the fine could be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

As most of the features of computers used by consumers have moved off the PC and onto the smartphone, the power of Windows has been undercut by the adoption of Android. If this is the evolution of software adoption, Android faces the same fate Windows did a generation ago. Governments will begin to view — or already have — Android’s place in the universe of consumer software as too powerful. That means antitrust officials will press Google to neuter the product. A legal battle between the search company and a number of government authorities is bound to erupt.

Only a very few years ago, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was the likely target of antitrust activity. The use of its iOS rose relentlessly with the sale of its phones, Macs and tablets. The iTunes store dominated the dissemination of music. Apple also ruled the app universe as it distributed hundreds of millions of apps from a “store” that offered hundreds of thousands of products. The size and distribution strength of the Google app store now almost equals that of Apple. And Android has eclipsed iOS, Windows Mobile and Symbian as the software preferred by smartphone makers.

The tension between governments and software companies is a natural one. Software can become dominant more quickly than most products. Operating systems spread into markets quickly in a way physical products cannot. With equal swiftness, the systems can seize positions that allow them to distribute money-making products or products that add muscle to their market share with products attached to the OS. In Microsoft’s case, the offending product is its browser. With Google, the offense could be its search technology, maps or app store.

Google’s Android system has a troubled future, brought on by its own success.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Software Tagged: GOOG, MSFT

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Deutsche Bank Says Buy the Enduring Eight Tech Stocks (CSCO, EMC, HPQ, IBM, INTC, MSFT, NTAP, ORCL)

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By 24/7 Wall St.

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During the bull market for technology stocks in the 1990s, investors eagerly awaited the quarterly results from the large-cap technology leaders. The personal computer was being totally integrated into the home and business environment and pricing was more competitive with each passing year. In a new research report, Deutsche Bank A.G. (NYSE: DB) says its time for investors to own the “Enduring Eight” big-cap technology leaders again.

With business fundamentals expected to improve in 2013, corporate spending is expected to follow suit. The analysts at Deutsche Bank expect an upturn in tech business spending in 2013, after a flattish 2012, as growth picks up and confidence improves. Companies have been frugal in their information and technology budgets, and their IT infrastructure has aged. Gartner forecasts around 5% annual growth in information technology (IT) spending from 2013 to 2016, led by storage and software.

One key reason cited for purchasing the large-cap tech leaders is that, in the Deutsche Bank view, large multinational companies treat the global tech giants as key operational partners and not mere vendors. The long-term and global relationships these tech leaders have with customers are part of their ability to endure the challenges of a dynamic and competitive industry – a key difference from consumer tech products. In addition, these companies are already key players in big data, cloud and mobility, the main drivers of business IT spending

These are the Deutsche Bank enduring eight tech stocks to buy:

Networking leader Cisco Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO) currently is trading near the $20 level. The Wall St. consensus estimate target for Cisco is $26.

Storage giant EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) makes the list. It is trading at what appears to be a support level of $23. The Thomson/First call price target is $30.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) is the only personal computer company to make the grade. It closed last Friday at $20.15, and the consensus target is lower at $17.50.

International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE: IBM), the leader in IT products and services worldwide, has a consensus price target of $230. The stock closed Friday at $202.91.

Semiconductor giant Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) is the only chip company to make the Deutsche Bank list. The stock closed Friday at $21.03 and has a consensus price target of $23.00.

Windows software maker Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) also makes the Deutsche Bank list. The stock closed Friday at $27.95 and has a consensus target of $33.

Network storage solution leader NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ: NTAP) is trading near $33.95, which is way below the 52-week high of $46.80. The consensus price target is $40.

Application software giant Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) rounds out the enduring eight list. Trading close to its 52-week high at $34.63, it has a consensus price target of $38.

The analysts at Deutsche Bank point out that while growth disappointed in 2012, it should be better in 2013. Over the cycle, tech’s enduring eight have generated healthy growth, which has yet to be fully appreciated by investors. From 2006 to 2012, average …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

News, Politics, Government

NY judge sends ex-lawyer to prison for 8 years

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A former Chicago lawyer who participated in what authorities have called the largest tax fraud in history was sentenced Friday to eight years in prison by a judge who called the scheme to help wealthy clients escape millions of dollars in taxes “breathtaking in its scope and the damage it caused the nation.”

U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III sentenced 52-year-old Donna Guerin, of Scottsdale, Ariz., after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States and tax evasion. He ordered her to pay $190 million in restitution besides the $1.6 million she agreed to forfeit when she pleaded guilty in September.

Guerin, a former partner at Jenkens & Gilchrist, a Texas-based law firm with offices throughout the United States, had admitted that she helped market tax shelters from 1994 through 2004 to some of the world’s richest investors, including the late sports entrepreneur Lamar Hunt, trust fund recipients, investors, a grandson of the late industrialist Armand Hammer and one of the earliest investors in Microsoft Corp.

Prosecutors said the tax shelters produced about $7 billion in phony tax losses that customers could use to reduce their tax obligations by tens of millions of dollars, cheating the Internal Revenue Service of nearly $1.5 billion. One of several tax shelter schemes was marketed from 1998 through 2000, producing at least $3.9 billion in bogus tax losses for at least 550 wealthy people, the government said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stanley J. Okula Jr. called it a “truly unprecedented fraud” and the largest loss by the IRS in history.

The judge said the fraud touched some of the nation’s largest financial institutions, where legal statements prepared by Guerin and those she trained made many professionals believe the tax shelters were legitimate.

The judge seemed unimpressed with Guerin’s statement that she was “truly sorry” for her actions and that she had lost her legal career, her reputation and her ability to raise children.

The judge described Guerin’s rise from a humble background to attend law school and secure a great job at a major firm as “the embodiment of the American dream.”

“But then,” he said, “her lust for money turned her American dream into a nightmare.”

The onetime Elmhurst, Ill., resident earned nearly $18 million illegally because she wasn’t content with a job out …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox US News

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Can Old Media Beat New Media in Ad War?

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By 24/7 Wall St.

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The conventional wisdom is that old media online content gets trumped every time by new media properties, at least when it comes to ad revenue. This does not have to be the case, based on the number of people who visit old media websites.

New media, which did not spring from print or broadcast properties, do have an edge as far as total audience is concerned. ComScore reports that in January, Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) sites had 186.6 million unique visitors. AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) had 111.3 million. Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) sites, mostly MSN, had 169.7 million.

In aggregate, old media online does very well in audience reach. CBS Corp. (NYSE: CBS) sites had 82.8 million unique visitors in January. Turner, a part of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX), had 79.5 million. NBC Universal, part of Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) had 71 million. Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIAB) had 69.7 million. Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI) had 50 million. Hearst had 43.1 million. The Top 50 sites by U.S audience also included Meredith Corp. (NYSE: MDP), which probably will combine with Time Inc., The New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) properties, Fox Digital and The Tribune online properties.

All of this is a long way of showing that old media has extraordinary reach online, and that as traditional media outlets fail to produce the level of revenue they once did, or are no longer growing as quickly, online revenue has a chance to do better for these companies than it does.

The New York Times reported as part of its fourth-quarter results:

Digital advertising revenues as a percentage of total Company advertising revenues were 24.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 compared with 22.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2011. For the full year, digital advertising revenues as a percentage of total Company advertising revenues were 23.9 percent in 2012 compared with 22.5 percent in 2011.

Given that the Times had 33.6 million unique visitors online in January, which dwarfs the circulation of the company’s properties, the online revenue production is pathetic. The Times will continue to have to cut editorial staff and production costs to remain financially viable. Digital ad growth is too slow to cover the expense needs of the company.

Time Inc., another firm that produces content among the most well-regarded on the Web, will nearly disappear into Meredith, largely because it could not unlock Internet revenue.

Why is new media in such a struggle with old media companies? There is no one answer. Perhaps management has not put enough pressure on sales staffs to press online ad sales. Perhaps the companies have not been adroit enough to create content online that is of as high a quality as their traditional content. Whatever the reasons, it is not a lack of audience.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Internet, Media, Old Media Tagged: AOL, CBS, CMCSA, featured, GCI, MDP, MSFT, NYT, TWX, VIA-B, YHOO

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Hedge fund manager Einhorn blasts Dell's buyout plan

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File photo of Einhorn, president of Greenlight Capital, speaking during the Sohn Investment Conference in New York

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Hedge fund manager David Einhorn had some sharp words on Thursday for both Dell Inc and founder Michael Dell on his plan to take the company private. Einhorn, who has mounted a campaign to get Apple Inc to share more of its $137 billion cash pile, used the leveraged buyout of Dell as an example of a cash policy that is shareholder unfriendly. Michael Dell has struck a deal to take private the No. 3 personal computer maker he created in a college dorm room in 1984. The founder is partnering with private equity house Silver Lake and Microsoft Corp but the $24. …

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Yahoo Business

Articles of Interest

With Playstation 4 Event, Sony Attempts To Beat Microsoft To The Punch

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By The Huffington Post News Editors

By Tim Kelly and Malathi Nayak
TOKYO (Reuters) – Sony Corp is expected to showcase a new PlayStation console on Wednesday in a pre-emptive strike against Microsoft Corp‘s bid to make its Xbox the world’s leading hub for household entertainment.
The rare PlayStation event in New York comes amid industry speculation that Microsoft is set to unveil the successor to its Xbox 360, which beats the seven-year-old PlayStation 3’s online network with features such as voice commands on interactive gaming and superior connectivity to smartphones and tablets.
“Their focus is on establishing a beachhead for the next generation of consoles, and that’s what February 20 is all about,” said P.J. McNealy, CEO and founder of Digital World Research. “The reality is they have been playing catch-up.”
Pushing ahead of Microsoft’s Xbox and Nintendo Co Ltd’s new Wii U could help Sony revive an electronics business hurt by a dearth of hit gadgets, a collapse in TV sales and the convergence of consumer interest around tablets and smartphones built by rivals Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd.
Tablets and smartphones already account for around 10 percent of the $80 billion gaming market. Those mobile devices, analysts predict, will within a few years be as powerful as the current slew of game-only consoles.
After six years, Sony PlayStation sales are just shy of Xbox’s 67 million installed base and well behind the 100-million selling Wii, analysts said.
A lackluster launch in November of the Wii successor, the Wii U, gives Sony a chance to focus on toppling Microsoft as all three battle the encroachment of casual gaming on tablets and smartphones. Nintendo cut its sales target to 4 million machines from 5.5 million for the year ending March 31.
STREAMING
Microsoft’s answer to the casual gaming threat has been software that gives users extra content and allows them to surf the Internet from their mobile devices. The Xbox already streams Netflix and ESPN and links to tablets and smartphones using Windows or Apple’s iOS and Google Inc’s Android. Sony’s PS3 online network has lagged.
“For Sony, they have to come out …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post

Articles of Interest

Microsoft’s New Outlook Email Is An Improvement, But Not A Game Changer

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By The Huffington Post News Editors

NEW YORK (AP) — Longtime users of Hotmail, MSN and other Microsoft email services will start noticing a big change: When they sign in to check messages, they’ll be sent to a new service called Outlook.com.

You might be thinking, isn’t Outlook the software Microsoft Corp. makes for people to use email at work? Indeed it is, but Microsoft is now adopting that brand for personal, Web-based email services as well. It’s part of a broad makeover that includes the company’s overhaul of the Windows operating system and the Office software suite.

There’s little relationship between the two Outlooks apart from the name. That’s good. The Outlook Web App I use for checking work email at home feels like an adaptation of software meant to be installed on work computers, rather than something designed from the start to play to the Web’s strengths. The consumer Outlook.com, on the other hand, feels the way Web email should. It bears more similarities with consumer-based email services, such as Google’s Gmail and Yahoo Mail, than with the corporate Outlook.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

It's Official — Hotmail Becomes Outlook.com

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By 24/7 Wall St.

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In 1997, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) paid an estimated $400 to $500 million for one of the Internet’s first webmail programs, Hotmail. Today, the software giant is officially launching Outlook.com to replace the 17-year old webmail program.

This announcement really cannot generate much more than a big yawn. It is another example of Microsoft replaying yesterday’s game. In a television interview yesterday, company chairman and co-founder Bill Gates admitted that Microsoft had screwed up a few things:

[CEO Steve Ballmer] and I are two of the most self-critical people you can imagine. [Are Surface and Xbox] enough? No, [Ballmer] and I are not satisfied that in terms of breakthrough things that we’re doing everything possible.

Isn’t that the truth? Ballmer messed up the swift market transition to smartphones, and the company will be lucky to hold on to a distant third behind Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). Microsoft is battling it out with BlackBerry (NASDAQ: BBRY) for third place, and the Redmond behemoth stands a good chance of losing.

What does Microsoft do? Upgrades its free email program. Yesterday’s news, today.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Internet, Software, Technology Companies Tagged: AAPL, BBRY, GOOG, MSFT

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Cloud Software Company Files for IPO

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By 24/7 Wall St.

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Marin Software, maker of cloud-based digital advertising management platform, has filed a Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launching the company’s quest for an initial public offering (IPO). For the purposes of the filing, Marin Software indicated that it seeks raise $75 million from the offering. Underwriters include Goldman Sachs & Co., Deutsche Bank Securities, UBS Investment Bank, Stifel, and Wells Fargo Securities.

The company counts Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M), Apollo Group Inc. (NASDAQ: APOL), Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE), and Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC) among its customers, and says it has business relationships with Baidu Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU), Bing from Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB), and Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO). Marin identified competitors Google’s DoubleClick advertising platform, Adobe Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: ADBE), and other privately held firms.

Marin expects about 23.27 million shares to be outstanding following the IPO, a total which does not include about 4.9 million additional shares issued or issuable, not does the total include shares reserved for future issuance under an equity compensation plan.

The company currently claims about 400 employees and will trade on the NYSE under the ticker symbol MRIN.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Internet, IPOs, Software Tagged: ADBE, APOL, BIDU, EXPE, FB, GOOG, M, MSFT, SYMC, YHOO

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Google Loses Patent Ruling to Microsoft

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By 24/7 Wall St.

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The Motorola unit of Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) lost 13 patent claims it had lodged against Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) way back in 2010 when Motorola was still an independent company. The federal judge ruled yesterday that parts of three Motorola patents on video technology are not valid.

In December the same judge denied an injunction sought by Motorola that would have prevented Microsoft from selling everything from Windows to the Xbox.

The remaining issue is how much Microsoft will have to pay Motorola/Google to license the technology. The video and wireless patents are considered “standards essential” and as such must be licensed on “reasonable and non-discriminatory terms” to all. In 2010, Motorola offered to license the patents to Microsoft at a 2.25% royalty rate. That would have come to billions. Microsoft said “no” and filed suit.

In settlement talks, Motorola asked for $4 billion and Microsoft countered with an offer of $1 million. The judge is expected to rule on the payments within the next few weeks.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Internet, Law, Wireless Tagged: GOOG, MSFT

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Can Streaming Save the Video Kiosk?

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By 24/7 Wall St.

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When Coinstar Inc. (NASDAQ: CSTR) reported earnings last night, the owner of the Redbox DVD-rental machines beat earnings estimates by 27%, but net income was down by the same amount for the quarter. Sales were up, but well below estimates. And then things got worse.

The company said that it expects fewer new videos this quarter, and that will have an impact on revenues and profits. First-quarter guidance for revenues of $568 million to $593 million is well short of the consensus estimate of $624.18 million. EPS guidance of $0.77 to $0.93 is even further short of a consensus estimate of $1.21.

Fewer new DVDs and the lack of top-quality videos and movies is not going to help Coinstar’s streaming video joint venture with Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) because content producers like movie studios and cable channels have dragged their feet on releasing programming for streaming. Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX), once the favorite of content producers, also has become a red-headed stepchild as the producers launch their own streaming channels in an effort to capture more revenue. Either that, or raise their demands so much that content costs batter profits.

The basic way for Netflix and Redbox Instant to fight this is to add subscribers, something that Netflix did quite well in the fourth quarter, with nearly 5.5 million new subscribers. Redbox Instant has rolled out on the Xbox 360 from Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), and is scheduled to roll out widely by the end of the current quarter. To compete with Netflix or Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), Redbox Instant will need to spend big money, which is presumably the reason for Verizon’s inclusion in the streaming joint venture.

But it will be an uphill struggle. Here is a snippet from Netflix’s recent quarterly report:

[W]e looked at the top 200 titles on Netflix: our 100 most popular movies and our 100 most popular TV shows in Q4. Of these 200, 113 are not on Amazon Prime, Hulu Plus or Redbox Instant. Of the 87 that are available on at least one of these services, Hulu Plus offers 27 of the 200; Amazon Prime 73 of the 200; and Redbox Instant 12 of the 200, with significant overlap in TV between Hulu Plus and Amazon Prime, and in movies between Amazon Prime and Redbox Instant. In other words, when it comes to the most popular content with members on Netflix, none of these services are good substitutes to Netflix.

Redbox Instant has yet to launch officially, but Coinstar’s complaints about content are not going to fix this problem. In Coinstar’s favor is that Netflix and Amazon have the same problem, although Netflix’s foray into original programming could help it offset the lack of cooperation from the studios and cable channels. But producing content is expensive too.

The other heavyweight competition will come from Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and its 600-pound video gorilla, YouTube, and its sponsored channels that YouTube is expected to test as paid subscriptions.

Coinstar’s shares are down …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

In Yahoo! Deal with Google, Microsoft Becomes Odd Man Out

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By 24/7 Wall St.

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Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) made another in a series of decisions that have pushed its shares higher for months. It has formed an advertising deal with Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), which has a search engine market share nearly four times Yahoo!’s size. Under the agreement, Yahoo! said:

Today, we’re excited to announce that we recently signed a global, non-exclusive agreement with Google to display ads on various Yahoo! properties and certain co-branded sites using Google’s AdSense for Content and Google’s AdMob services.

By adding Google to our list of world-class contextual ads partners, we’ll be able to expand our network, which means we can serve users with ads that are even more meaningful.

Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) continues to have an advertising partnership with Yahoo!, which originally was meant to challenge Google’s prime spot among search advertising. The writing is on the wall, though. Microsoft will be on its own eventually, and the billions of dollars it has invested in its Bing search initiative and earlier incarnations will be significantly jeopardized. The strategy that Microsoft and Yahoo! together could challenge Google will be a memory.

The disclosure by Yahoo! is another example of how new management under CEO Marissa Ann Mayer has turned to a philosophy of realpolitik. Years of evidence show that Microsoft has done nothing to improve Yahoo!’s revenue from search, and may have undermined it. Google’s lead is so strong that a Yahoo! alliance with any other company cannot be anything other than a failure. Mayer’s shift is the only practical decision as she tries to improve Yahoo!s fortunes to the point where Wall St. sees a viable future of it as a standalone company.

At the conclusion of Yahoo!’s announcement, management said:

We look forward to working with all of our contextual ads partners to ensure we’re delivering the right ad to the right user at the right time.

Google is the only company that has made this kind of advertising highly profitable and, therefore, the only partner worth having.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Internet Tagged: featured, GOOG, MSFT, YHOO

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Dell Buyout Finally Arrives: Takeunder M&A for Many Holders

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By 24/7 Wall St.

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Dell HQDell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) has finally announced that it has signed a definitive merger agreement under which founding CEO Michael Dell will acquire the company in partnership with global technology investment firm Silver Lake Partners. Dell stockholders will receive $13.65 in cash per share of Dell. The total transaction is being valued at approximately $24.4 billion.

Investors will be happy if they bought shares during the weakest part of the past few months. Other than that, this management buyout is effectively a “takeunder” rather than a takeover for many Dell shareholders. Dell does maintain that this represents a premium of 25% over Dell’s closing share price of $10.88 on January 11, 2013, as the last trading day before rumors of a possible going-private transaction were first published. It is also listed as a premium of about 35% over Dell’s enterprise value on the same date. As far as the premium for the longer near-term, this represents a 37% premium over the average closing share price during the previous 90 calendar days prior to January 11, 2013.

The Dell board of directors unanimously approved a merger agreement under which Michael Dell and Silver Lake Partners will acquire Dell and take the company private, subject to a number of conditions. A vote of the unaffiliated stockholders is one condition. Dell’s merger agreement provides for a so-called 45-day “go-shop” period, allowing the Special Committee, along with Evercore Partners, to “actively solicit, receive, evaluate and potentially enter into negotiations with parties that offer alternative proposals.”

The transaction is amazingly not subject to financing conditions. The financing will come through a combination of cash and equity contributed by Mr. Dell’s 14% stake as of now, cash funded by investment funds affiliated with Silver Lake Partners, cash invested by MSD Capital, a $2 billion loan from Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT), rollover of existing debt, as well as debt financing that has been committed by BofA Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Credit Suisse and RBC Capital Markets, and cash on hand.

A successful competing bidder who makes a qualifying proposal during the initial go-shop period would bear a $180 million (less than 1%) termination fee. For a competing bidder who did not qualify during the initial go-shop period, the termination fee would be $450 million.

This deal has been in the works for about three weeks now, and it really started last year, if you read into the press release. Dell shares are up less than 1% at $13.39 on the deal and its 52-week trading range is $8.69 to $18.36.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Active Trader, Consumer Electronics, Mergers & Acquisitions, Mergers and Buy Outs, PC Companies, Private Equity, Technology, Technology Companies Tagged: DELL, MSFT

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Vringo Goes After Microsoft

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By 24/7 Wall St.

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Patent illoIntellectual property firm Vringo Inc. (NYSEMKT: VRNG) announced this morning that a wholly owned subsidiary, I/P Engine, had filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) alleging that the software giant had infringed on two Vringo patents. The suit seeks compensatory damages “past and future, amounting to no less than reasonable royalties.”

Last November Vringo settled a similar suit against Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG), AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL), IAC/InteractiveCorp (NASDAQ: IACI), Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT), and Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI) for $30 million. Vringo had sought $500 million.

The patents involved in the suit against Microsoft is the same as the patents involved in the Google lawsuit, and are related to relevance filtering when displaying search results. The patents were issued to Lycos, an early web search engine, and were acquired by I/P Engine before it merged with Vringo last year.

Google paid nearly $16 million to Vringo in the November settlement, and that’s probably a figure Microsoft will try to negotiate down.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Internet, Law, Software Tagged: AOL, GCI, GOOG, IACI, MSFT, VRNG

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Facebook Not Growing Much Faster Than Google

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By 24/7 Wall St.

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GoogleLogoThe market barely reacted to news that Facebook Inc.’s (NASDAQ: FB) revenue spiked higher by 40% to $1.585 billion in the fourth quarter of last year, as compared to the same quarter of the previous year. That could be because the Internet’s next big engine of growth did not post growth much better than the Internet’s last big engine of growth — Google. Set side by side with Google, Facebook’s revenue expansion is not extraordinary at all.

Google Inc.’s (NASDAQ: GOOG) growth rate in the fourth quarter was 36%. And the revenue posted in that quarter was $14.42 billion, which makes Facebook’s revenue look very small. Google’s net income from that revenue was $2.89 billion. Facebook’s net for the same period was $64 million.

Supporters of Facebook’s nearly $68 billion market cap claim that the social network has only started to reach its stride. They would argue some proof of that is growth of mobile ad revenue to 23% of advertising revenue in the fourth quarter, up from 14% in the third quarter. However, Facebook did not remark on whether it charged more or less for mobile ads than those run on traditional platforms like personal computers.

One of the marks that Google has become the Web’s current powerhouse is that its growth for more than a decade caused its revenue and market value to blow past the previous generation of Web giants — Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO), AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) and the online properties of Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT). Google today has more revenue than all of those combined, and much, much greater profits.

At a 40% growth rate, it would take decades for Facebook to reach the revenues Google will have, even if Google’s percentage increase in sales slows somewhat. Facebook is not the next Google, and that by itself justifies whatever doubts Wall St. has about its valuation going forward.

Filed under: 24/7 Wall St. Wire, Earnings, Internet Tagged: FB, featured, GOOG, MSFT, YHOO

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

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MARKET SNAPSHOT: Market's Geared Up For Apple, Google Results

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Tech heavyweights Apple Inc., Google Inc., International Business Machines Corp. and Microsoft Corp. are scheduled to release quarterly results next week, and with gloomy expectations for earnings for the sector, investors will be keen to hear the companies’ forecasts.
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