purchase price

Will HP Steal Sybase From SAP?

John Paczkowski in News on May 14, 2010 at 9:05 am PT

Is SAP paying too much for Sybase? Some have argued that $65 per share in cash–56 percent above Sybase’s Tuesday closing price–is a bit dear for a company whose stock hasn’t really topped $50 since the mid-’90s. But SAP likely has a very good reason for offering it: Preempting a rival bid from Hewlett-Packard, which, according to Cowen analyst Peter Goldmacher, can’t afford not to buy Sybase.

Break Media Makes Another Gaming Move, Acquires FileFront Networks

Peter Kafka in Media on February 11, 2010 at 8:00 am PT

Last month, dudecentric network Break Media announced plans to start developing its own lightweight Web games. FileFront comes at gaming from a different perspective–it works hand-in-hand with the big-budget videogames for the likes of the Xbox 360 and the PS3.

And if You Think $550 in Nexus One Early-Termination Fees Is Bad, Just Wait Until Verizon Gets Involved

John Paczkowski in News on January 12, 2010 at 8:32 am PT

Caveat emptor: Purchase a subsidized Nexus One from Google and you’ll pay dearly if you cancel service early. According to the device’s terms of sale, the search company charges an “equipment recovery fee” of $350 in the event users cancel service before 120 days have passed. This, in addition to the $200 in early-termination fee that carrier T-Mobile assesses.

Microsoft Slurps Up Opalis

John Paczkowski in News on December 11, 2009 at 10:57 am PT

Evidently, Microsoft is back in a buying mood. Yesterday, the company announced plans to acquire health-care software outfit Sentillion. And now Microsoft says it plans to buy Opalis Software, a maker of data center management software.

Friendster’s Cautionary Tale Ends in $100 Million Sale

Peter Kafka in Media on December 10, 2009 at 4:46 am PT

There aren’t a lot of start-up stories in which a nine-figure sale is considered a bummer, but this is one of them: Friendster, the site that once defined social networking, has been sold to Malaysia’s MOL Global at a fraction of its old value.

Google’s Checkbook Opens Up Again, This Time for Collaboration Start-Up AppJet

Peter Kafka in Media on December 4, 2009 at 1:37 pm PT

Google, which has bought five companies in five months, just made it an even half-dozen: The company has snapped up AppJet, an online collaboration start-up run by veterans of the search giant. That’s CEO Aaron Iba on the right, in a photo presumably taken after the deal closed.

Skype Actually a "Voice Over IP Litigation" Service

John Paczkowski in News on July 31, 2009 at 5:35 am PT

What a costly blunder Skype has proven to be for eBay. A $2.6 billion purchase price. A $1.4 billion asset impairment charge. Missed financial targets. And now this: eBay’s plans to spin off Skype next year are being threatened by a legal dispute over the telephony service’s underlying technology.

Skype Actually a “Voice Over IP Litigation” Service

John Paczkowski in News on July 31, 2009 at 5:35 am PT

What a costly blunder Skype has proven to be for eBay. A $2.6 billion purchase price. A $1.4 billion asset impairment charge. Missed financial targets. And now this: eBay’s plans to spin off Skype next year are being threatened by a legal dispute over the telephony service’s underlying technology.

Happy Chat: Paltalk Buys Back Its Shares From Softbank, at a Premium

Peter Kafka in Media on July 15, 2009 at 3:35 am PT

Here’s a funding story you don’t see often, recession or no: A start-up buying back its shares from its venture capitalist, at a premium. But that’s the transaction that video-chat firm Paltalk and Softbank have completed. Paltalk, which sold off 20 percent of its equity to Softbank for $6 million in 2004, has bought the shares back. No one has spelled out a purchase price, but I’m told the deal will be considered a “single” for Softbank–it gets its capital back, plus a return–which in this economy ought to be a home run.