Deals

Google Settlement Paves the Way for Stock Split
June 18, 2013

Google has settled the class-action shareholder lawsuit that had been blocking a stock split it originally announced last year, the company said Monday, paving the way for it to move forward with the split as planned. The suit's settlement was an eleventh-hour development in this 14-month storyline, which included the imminent prospect of a trial in Delaware chancery court over the issue.

Spotify Gets Pink Floyd to Break Down Wall
June 18, 2013

Honoring a previous agreement, legendary British rock group Pink Floyd has given the green light to music streaming outfit Spotify to host the band's catalog. Pink Floyd announced earlier this month that it would resist releasing its music on Spotify until the 1975 classic "Wish You Were Here" hit 1 million streams. Well, the song hit 1 million, and Pink Floyd's tunes are now unlocked.

Weighing the Importance of Google's Waze Win
June 18, 2013

After months of courtship, social navigation app Waze ultimately chose to partner -- for $1 billion-plus -- with Google, rejecting Facebook and Apple. The price tag shows how valuable Waze has become, and that's to say nothing of the overtures it received from the world's tech giants. "I think what's really surprising is that Facebook allowed the deal to die," said tech correspondent David Shamah.

Netflix, DreamWorks Team in Huge Original Content Deal
June 17, 2013

Video streaming service Netflix on Monday announced a new, multiyear partnership with DreamWorks Animation whereby it will bring many of the studio's beloved characters to the TV market via a branded collection of shows. Marking the largest deal for original first-run content in Netflix's history, the partnership will include more than 300 hours of new programming.

2 Years Later, HP's Botched Palm Acquisition Still Stings
June 13, 2013

Former Palm CEO and webOS creator Jon Rubinstein is apparently still brooding over Palm's acquisition by HP. Two years later, he looks back at what HP did with webOS -- or rather what it didn't do -- and he is very disappointed, he said in a recent interview. When HP acquired Palm for $1.2 billion in 2010, it did indeed look as though webOS was destined for great things.

Google's Waze Grab Is About a Lot More Than Defense
June 12, 2013

Google has finalized its acquisition of Waze, developer of a crowdsourced mapping app, with the goal of expanding its location-based and social maps offerings while providing users with a way to outsmart traffic. Waze has a worldwide user base of about 50 million people who log in to access or submit real-time navigational data. Google reportedly paid about $1.3 billion for the startup.

Iceland Won't Grant Snowden Asylum - Until He Gets There
June 12, 2013

As far as Iceland goes, Edward Snowden may be left out in the cold. Snowden, the whistleblower who made international headlines after leaking secrets about the U.S. National Security Agency's PRISM program, is believed to currently be in Hong Kong. Given Hong Kong's history of extraditing people to the United States, speculation has turned to where Snowden might go after Hong Kong.

EC Mulls Potential US Threat to Europeans' Privacy
June 11, 2013

The European Commission is concerned that U.S. data collection practices such as PRISM may pose a threat to Europeans' privacy rights. Commission Vice President Viviane Reding, who is in charge of justice, plans to raise the issue at an EU-U.S. meeting later this week in Dublin. That announcement comes after last week's revelation of the headline-grabbing PRISM program.

Sprint Leans Toward Sweeter Softbank Offer
June 11, 2013

Softbank and Sprint late Monday announced changes to the merger agreement awaiting shareholders' approval. The new deal increases the amount of cash that would go to stockholders by reallocating funds that had been earmarked for direct investment in Sprint. SoftBank will acquire shares from current Sprint shareholders for $7.65, up from the $7.30 per share in the original bid.

SAP Pulls Hybris Into Its Stable
June 11, 2013

SAP acquired Switzerland-based enterprise resource planning company Hybris last week in order to add cloud-based, next-generation e-commerce capabilities to its offerings. Hybris has developed an omnichannel commerce platform that allows businesses to incorporate Web, mobile, call center and store actions in their efforts to track and respond to customer activity.

Salesforce Buys ExactTarget
June 05, 2013

Salesforce.com has made its biggest acquisition ever: It has snagged marketing automation and campaign management vendor ExactTarget for $2.5 billion. As part of the transaction, Salesforce will acquire all outstanding ExactTarget stock for $33.75 per share in cash. Both companies' boards of directors have approved the deal, which is expected to increase Salesforce revenue by $120-$125 million.

Hulu Might Be Up for Grabs
June 03, 2013

DirecTV and two other unidentified bidders reportedly are offering upwards of $1 billion to buy Hulu. DirecTV could be planning to add Hulu's digital offerings to its TV packages. Hulu offers both free and paid content, with about 4 million subscribers to its premium Hulu Plus service. Together, ads and fees generate revenue of about $700 million per year.

Michael Dell May Get What He Asked For
June 01, 2013

Michael Dell's attempt to take his company private in a $24.4 billion deal has moved forward another inch or so in what is turning out to be a very long road for the CEO. Dell notified its shareholders on Friday that the special committee formed in February, after Michael Dell first unveiled his buyout proposal, had concluded that his offer was the best option.

SoftBank, US Forge National Security Deal
May 30, 2013

SoftBank has reached a national security agreement with U.S. authorities, perhaps clearing the way for the Japanese company to purchase Sprint Nextel. U.S. officials have expressed concerns about potential ties between SoftBank and Chinese telecommunications firms like Huawei. Chinese telecoms drew the ire of Congress in late 2012, and security rhetoric has recently ratcheted up.

Kim Dotcom: Two-Step Authentication Patent Is Mine
May 24, 2013

Kim Dotcom, founder of the seized file-sharing site Megaupload, hinted via Twitter that he might sue the slew of companies using two-step authentication, for which Dotcom claims to own the patent. Dotcom provided a link to a patent that deals with two layers of identification, corroborating his purported ownership.

Yahoo Pulls PlayerScale Under Its Umbrella
May 24, 2013

Yahoo hasn't been playing around when it comes to acquisitions. Its latest, announced Tuesday, is PlayerScale, which makes software infrastructure for cross-platform gaming. Four-year-old PlayerScale has built a sizable audience, and it could fit well with Yahoo's new direction. "This deal is intriguing for a couple of reasons," said tech analyst Charles King.

Google's Makani Buy Could Take Wind Energy to Higher Levels
May 23, 2013

Google X Labs, the not-so-secret-but-secretive facility that works on cutting edge projects, has bought airborne wind turbine developer Makani Power, which announced the news on its website. Makani uses tethered aircraft that fly in figure 8s to generate power. The purchase formalizes a long and productive relationship between the two companies.

GrubHub, Seamless Merge to Boost Restaurant Delivery Chops
May 21, 2013

Two well-known restaurant delivery services -- GrubHub and Seamless -- announced plans to merge on Monday. The services enable users to search local restaurants that deliver by ZIP code and food specialty. Combined, the companies' footprint will cover 500 cities and connect users to more than 20,000 establishments.

Dish Eyes LightSquared's Wireless Spectrum
May 21, 2013

Dish Network is offering $2 billion for some of LightSquared's spectrum in a move that could help the company expand its services beyond pay TV. The offer would add spectrum to Dish's growing supply of airwaves and allow it to expand into wireless solutions. LightSquared, the bankrupt wireless network company, would use the capital to pay off debt.

Yahoo's Too Uncool for Some Tumblr Bloggers
May 20, 2013

Yahoo confirmed on Monday that it was acquiring Tumblr for US$1.1 billion -- perhaps further propelling the flight of Tumblr bloggers that began when rumors of the sale intensified last week. While the deal has implications on many levels and for many players, at least one group appears to have weighed the transaction and come to a conclusion about its merits.