Does Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer need an intervention?
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer may need an intervention before this obsession
| with Yahoo–which is really about an obsession over Google–spins out of
| control.
`----
http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=8597
Is Microsoft's Ballmer a bad dealmaker?
,----[ Quote ]
| The bid for Yahoo that helped sink the market value of Microsoft (MSFT) by
| more than $20 billion in one day in early February is one of the latest in a
| string of acquisitions and major investment stakes Microsoft has initiated
| since CEO Steve Ballmer took over in 2000 that have been punished by the
| stock market as misjudgments.
|
| "Some learn more quickly than others. It doesn't look like Mr. Ballmer is
| learning that quickly," says UCLA Anderson School of Management professor
| Richard Roll, lead author of a study that analyzed 11 years of merger and
| acquisition announcements by 2,589 CEOs at 1,740 U.S. companies.
`----
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/techinvestor/corporatenews/2008-04-23-ballmer_N.htm
Yesterday:
Microsoft Profit Drops; Forecast May Miss Estimates
,----[ Quote ]
| The world's biggest software maker said sales of Windows for PCs sank 24
| percent and revenue from its online advertising unit came in at the low end
| of its projections. Microsoft's report contrasted with positive comments from
| chipmaker Intel Corp. and computer company International Business Machines
| Corp.
|
| [...]
|
| Microsoft declined $1.60 to $30.20 in extended trading after closing at
| $31.80 at 4 p.m. New York time on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The stock has
| fallen 11 percent this year.
`----
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aQ7_iN1SxJ.c&refer=worldwide
Recent:
UCLA Professor: Microsoft CEO Ballmer a ‘hubris-infected serial acquirer’ with
dismal track record
http://macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/16916/
Bear Stearns's Advice To Microsoft
,----[ Quote ]
| Co-founder Bill Gates can't be thrilled with watching
| Ballmer drain the company's cash. He didn't get so rich by buying at the top
| ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
| of the market.
`----
http://www.forbes.com/technology/2008/03/17/microsoft-bear-stearns-tech-ebiz-cx_ec_0316msft.html
Microsoft says to borrow money for Yahoo deal
,----[ Quote ]
| Microsoft Corp said on Monday it may borrow money for the first time in its
| history to fund a portion of its $44.6 billion unsolicited offer for Yahoo
| Inc.
`----
http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNews/idUSN0455692920080205
Microsoft's DreamSpark – What a Giveaway
,----[ Quote ]
| The rest of the $44.6bn (£22.3bn) deal would be financed with an undisclosed
| amount of credit.
|
| What that means is that it must squeeze as much money as it can from its
| operations to fund that debt and still pay dividends to shareholders, who
| will be looking for some payback from the Yahoo takeover. Giving away
| software is the last thing it would want to do in these circumstances, and
| the DreamSpark announcement shows just how worried it is about the future.
`----
http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/microsofts-dreamspark-%E2%80%93-what-giveaway
Will Deal-Making Chiefs Ever Learn? Maybe.
,----[ Quote ]
| Mr. Ballmer was considered a “hubris-infected” chief under the study’s
| definition, because of Microsoft’s value-destroying deal to invest $100
| million in Vertical Net in 2000. He followed up with deals for Intertainer
| and BroadBand Office, which were also followed by below-market returns for
| shareholders.
|
| In all, Mr. Ballmer made 15 deals between 2000 and 2002, with an average
| market-adjusted shareholder return of negative 4.59 percent.
`----
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/08/will-deal-making-chiefs-ever-learn-maybe/index.html
Mergers of Corporate Giants Not Likely to Benefit Consumers
,----[ Quote ]
| “There is little if any evidence that increased corporate size in
| already-large national and international firms produces greater technological
| innovation,” writes Elizabeth Sanders, Professor of Government at Cornell
| University. “To the contrary, it probably leads to less, given lower
| competitive pressures, and the starving of research in debt-burdened
| companies.”
`----
http://mslawnews.wordpress.com/2008/04/09/corporate_mergers/
|
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