Computer Hardware

Obama tightens antitrust screws with Intel suit

16 Dec 2009

Intel s behavior in the chip market has seemed an obvious target for monopoly watchdogs. Yet an antiregulatory bent and the difficulty in remedying tech abuses kept them out of the fray. FTC's Intel suit suggests growing confidence among authorities and more actions to come.

Intel pays small price to maintain chip dominance

12 Nov 2009

It's paying rival AMD $1.25bn and agreeing to soften some of its aggressive marketing ways. Abusive practices or not, the winnertakeall nature of tech generates monopolies that regulators and smaller rivals find difficult to tame.

Tech giants no longer respect business borders

11 Nov 2009

HP s $2.7bn purchase of 3Com puts it squarely into Cisco s realm. But Cisco s already gunning after HP in servers. As OracleSun, DellPerot and other deals suggest the traditional frontiers in technology no longer apply. The battlefield is wide open.

China’s wannabe Nasdaq works better on paper

30 Oct 2009

A new market for growth stocks should in theory promote innovation and help move China s capital from where it s hoarded to where it s needed. But in practice, Chinext has opened as a chaotic hive of overvaluation. It looks a step too far, too soon.

Cisco keeps the acquisition machine humming

13 Oct 2009

The US networking giant s $2.9bn purchase of Starent Networks is the second of this size in October alone. And more deals are in the works. There s one problem this strategy hasn t paid off for shareholders over the past decade.

Cisco’s restraint on $3bn deal hard to sustain

1 Oct 2009

The US networking giant s acquisition of the Norwegian Tandberg is its largest ever overseas. It s a sensible use of cash given the promise Cisco sees for video conferencing. But the bigger Cisco gets, the more discipline it will need to avoid overreach on future deals.

Dell pays through nose in search for direction

21 Sep 2009

The US computer maker is acquiring Perot Systems for $3.9bn, a whopping 68% premium. It's a muffled echo of rival HP s purchase of EDS. Add in the high price and it seems like a bet that doing more IT services can somehow end Dell's floundering. That's wishful thinking.

Crack in US tech’s IPO glacier not the same as thaw

4 May 2009

Software firm SolarWinds wants to be the first venturebacked tech company to debut since last August. Its success would show that investors have regained some risk appetite, a boon for backedup venture firms and underwriters. But it s unlikely the floodgates will fly open.

Not all sellers are adjusting to the new M&A

6 Apr 2009

Dealmakers like the US lawyers and bankers gathered in New Orleans last week were hopeful that the expectations of buyers and sellers are aligning. But deals like IBMSun Micro s, now on the rocks, suggest such optimism is premature.

IBM-Sun deal would be part cheap, part fearful

18 Mar 2009

The tech conglomerate is pondering a bid for the server maker. Potential cost cuts and Sun's depressed valuation make a deal opportunistically attractive for IBM. The two also need to ready for Cisco s entrance into the crowded server market. Joining forces could help.

Microsoft gets selective with Great Depression lesson

25 Feb 2009

Boss Steve Ballmer rightly says hard times are no time to cut R&D budgets. He points out RCA s research in the 1930s led to decades of dominance in television. Curiously, he neglects to mention RCA s massive legal campaign against TV s inventor.

Was Chuck Prince a visionary?

11 Feb 2009

The deposed Citi boss didn t mean it literally when he equated the credit boom to dancing. But boy was he prescient. This week Muzak, the pioneer of elevator music, filed for Chapter 11; Sirius may follow and Clear Channel radio is in trouble. The music really has stopped.

Freescale’s swap is a smart way to buy some time

10 Feb 2009

The semiconductor company offered subnote holders the chance to swap their debt for senior loans. The catch: they have to cut principal by as much as 75%. Bondholders may be willing to take the deal and it helps equity investors too. But it could just prolong the inevitable.

Buzz over Bono’s Palm bet reflects tech’s woes

7 Jan 2009

The talk at this week s tech confab in Vegas focuses on Palm s new smartphone. Its success is crucial to Elevation Partners, the VC fund affiliated with the U2 singer. But more broadly, the tech market s buzz about a bet on a troubled company reflects its own sad state.

Sandisk pulls a Yahoo

22 Oct 2008

Its unwanted suitor, Samsung, just dropped its generous offer for the memory maker. Sandisk played hardtoget, but looks to have miscalculated. The 30% fall in the won and Sandisk s own weak earnings made the deal too rich for Samsung s liking.

Apple missed market share opportunity

15 Oct 2008

The maker of the iPhone and iPod is known for trendy offerings, not cheap ones. But by failing to deliver a bargainpriced notebook, Apple missed an opportunity to increase its share of the computer market. The cheap portables trend is real, fashion is fleeting.

Market grasps at IBM’s straws

9 Oct 2008

After Alcoa set the scene for a dreadful earnings season, IBM lightened the mood with surprisingly good results. Investors shouldn t celebrate too much the tech conglomerate s weak revenue growth suggests problems postponed, not avoided.

Private equity style-drift dangers start to show

6 Oct 2008

It isn t just TPG or JC Flowers that lost money on minority investments. KKR s investments in Sun Micro and Legg Mason and Blackstone s Deutsche Telekom deal are all performing poorly. Private equity can lose more than just their investors' money.

Google handset cuts Apple’s iPhone lead

23 Sep 2008

Apple s handset was miles ahead of the competition when it was unveiled in 2007. At least at first sight, Google and TMobile s new phone appears to come within spitting distance. Google s more open stance toward software developers could yet close the gap further.

Sandisk’s Samsung snub may be smarter than it seems

17 Sep 2008

At first glance, the flash memory maker's rebuff of the Korean giant's $5.9bn bid looks crazy. After all, it carries a hefty 93% premium. But there may be a method to this madness. A tieup would be lucrative for Samsung, and interest from Toshiba could prompt it to pay more.