AllThingsD » Spencer E. Ante

Wary of China, U.S. Steps Into Sprint's Board

Anton Troianovski, Danny Yadron and Spencer E. Ante — Thu, 23 May 2013 11:37:54 +0000

SoftBank Corp. is readying a plan to allow the U.S. government an unusual level of influence over the operations of Sprint Nextel Corp., a concession to ease security concerns raised by the proposed cross-border takeover.

Tokyo-based SoftBank has agreed to give the federal government the right to approve one of the directors it names to Sprint’s board. That director will be responsible for overseeing national security issues. People familiar with the matter said the government is also seeking the right to approve some of Sprint’s equipment purchases and wants the removal of Chinese gear from a Sprint affiliate’s network.

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Fab Raising at Least $250 Million

Spencer E. Ante — Mon, 20 May 2013 23:53:14 +0000

The billion-dollar startup club may soon get a new member.

Online design retailer Fab Inc. is in advanced talks to raise $250 million to $300 million in venture capital in a deal that would value the fast-growing but unprofitable company at $1 billion not including the new capital, people familiar with the matter said.

The deal and its list of final participants hasn’t closed, but it is expected to wrap up in mid-June, with existing investor Atomico is leading the round, the people said. Atomico did not respond to requests for comment.

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Online Ads Can Now Follow You Home

Spencer E. Ante — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 15:00:44 +0000

Advertisers already know what people are up to on their personal computers. But understanding their online whereabouts on smartphones or tablets has remained elusive.

A number of companies are trying to better pinpoint mobile users’ online activity with new software and techniques they say could help advertisers track users across devices.

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IBM's Chief to Employees: Think Fast, Move Faster

Spencer E. Ante — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 07:35:21 +0000

International Business Machines Corp. Chief Executive Virginia Rometty delivered a rare companywide reprimand in the wake of a poor earnings report last week, saying the sprawling technology company needed to move faster and respond more quickly to customers.

The comments came in a five-minute internal video message to the company’s 434,000 employees.

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IBM Takes a Beating

Spencer E. Ante — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 15:45:28 +0000

All winning streaks come to an end. For International Business Machines Corp., the moment came this week.

After reporting profits that at least met Wall Street’s expectations for 31 straight quarters dating back through the financial crisis to early 2005, IBM stumbled late Thursday.

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Verizon Wireless Pursues Clearwire Spectrum

Sharon Terlep, Dana Cimilluca and Spencer E. Ante — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:18:20 +0000

Verizon Wireless has offered to pay up to $1.5 billion to buy spectrum leases from Clearwire Corp., people familiar with the matter said.

The move would give the country’s largest wireless carrier the right to use airwaves currently controlled by Clearwire in big markets in the U.S. It also further complicates a three-way series of deals in which Clearwire had agreed to sell itself to part owner Sprint Nextel Corp. and Sprint agreed to sell a controlling stake in itself to Softbank of Japan.

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China Worries Arise in Sprint Deal

Spencer E. Ante, Danny Yadron and Thomas Gryta — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 12:30:42 +0000

The U.S. government is seeking oversight of network-equipment purchases as a condition for approving Softbank Corp.’s $20 billion acquisition of U.S. phone carrier Sprint Nextel Corp., a move that appears to be aimed at keeping out Chinese suppliers like Huawei Technologies Co., people familiar with the matter said.

U.S. treatment of those suppliers has inflamed tensions between the U.S. and China, which are already sparring over accusations of computer hacking and trade issues. After the House intelligence committee concluded in October that Huawei and Chinese rival ZTE Corp. pose national-security risks because their equipment could be used for spying, China’s Commerce Ministry lashed out, saying the report violated the U.S.’s free-market principles and warning it could undermine cooperation between the countries.

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In the Smartphone Race, Money Talks for Samsung

Spencer E. Ante and Will Connors — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 12:00:54 +0000

In the smartphone business, following the money leads right to Samsung Electronics Co.

Outspent by rival Apple Inc. more than three to one in advertising for mobile phones in the U.S. in 2011, Samsung responded with a marketing blitz on TV, billboards, the Internet and print media that moved the Korean company into the pole position last year.

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Microsoft Offers Price Breaks

Eva Dou and Spencer E. Ante — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 12:31:44 +0000

Microsoft Corp. has recently been offering price breaks on its Windows 8 and Office software to help spur the development of small, touch-enabled laptop computers, people familiar with the situation said.

The Microsoft discounts are particularly tailored for portables with small displays that would likely appear this fall, these people said.

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Apps Rocket Toward $25 Billion in Sales

Jessica E. Lessin and Spencer E. Ante — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 16:30:35 +0000

Nearly five years after Apple Inc. kicked off the mobile-apps craze, the industry is booming.

App stores run by Apple and Google Inc. now offer more than 700,000 apps each. With so many apps to choose from, consumers are estimated to spend on average about two hours a day with apps. Global revenue from app stores is expected to rise 62 percent this year to $25 billion, according to Gartner Inc.

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Millions Improperly Claimed U.S. Phone Subsidies

Spencer E. Ante — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 14:00:41 +0000

The U.S. government spent about $2.2 billion last year to provide phones to low-income Americans, but a Wall Street Journal review of the program shows that a large number of those who received the phones haven’t proved they are eligible to receive them.

The Lifeline program — begun in 1984 to ensure that poor people aren’t cut off from jobs, families and emergency services — is funded by charges that appear on the monthly bills of every landline and wireless-phone customer. Payouts under the program have shot up from $819 million in 2008, as more wireless carriers have persuaded regulators to let them offer the service.

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Dish's Clearwire Offer Lives On

Spencer E. Ante and Anupreeta Das — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 15:42:18 +0000

Clearwire Corp. kept alive its consideration of a merger proposal from satellite television operator Dish Network Corp., as a vocal group of shareholders continues to oppose the wireless broadband operator’s deal to be bought by Sprint Nextel Corp.

In a regulatory filing Friday, Clearwire said it opted not to tap financing made available by Sprint for February — a step that could have caused Dish to withdraw its proposal to buy Clearwire for $3.30 a share. Clearwire has agreed to sell itself to Sprint for $2.97 a share.

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Remember Lotus Notes? It's Still a $1 Billion IBM Business.

Spencer E. Ante — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 15:15:19 +0000

International Business Machines Corp.’s vaunted software portfolio includes applications to help companies crunch huge amounts of data and manage their online storefronts. It also includes programs like Lotus Notes.

“I go to a party, and I almost immediately get insulted,” says Eugen Tarnow, a director of the consultancy Avalon Business Systems, which sells the aging email software to businesses. “They say, ‘Lotus Notes, that’s still around?’ It’s no fun.”

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Apple in Talks With Foursquare About Data-Sharing Deal

Jessica E. Lessin and Spencer E. Ante — Tue, 18 Dec 2012 03:17:52 +0000

Apple Inc. is in early discussions to integrate local data from Foursquare Labs Inc. into its mapping application, according to people familiar with the talks, as the company continues to build an arsenal of local data to try to take on Google Inc.

The talks, which took place in recent weeks and involve Apple senior vice president Eddy Cue, are the latest sign of Apple’s plans to more tightly integrate local services into the iPhone and iPad. The discussions with New York-based Foursquare come as Apple has been talking to a number of companies that collect local data to improve its new mapping product.

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Antiques Try Out New Home Online

Spencer E. Ante — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 17:40:19 +0000

If there’s anything that’s hard to sell on the Web, Jean-Michel Frank armchairs from the 1930s and George III mahogany sofas from the 18th century might seem to be near the top of the list. But some prominent venture capitalists are betting they have the answer for high-end antiques.

Skype investor Index Ventures and Twitter Inc. backer Spark Capital say they are leading a $42 million investment in 1stdibs, an 11-year-old online marketplace that is little known beyond the circle of well-heeled customers, antique shops and art dealers who use it. Part of the new funding comes from Benchmark, an early supporter of eBay Inc., which last year paid $60 million for a big stake in 1stdibs.

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Gilt's Flash Hunt: New Chief for IPO

Spencer E. Ante and Dana Mattioli — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 00:18:22 +0000

Online luxury retailer Gilt Groupe Inc. quietly launched a search for a new chief executive to replace co-founder Kevin Ryan as its strives to shore up its financial performance to support a possible initial public offering.

The search comes as Mr. Ryan’s aggressive plan to expand the five-year-old Internet darling into new business lines has stumbled. The members-only site grew quickly in the wake of the recession by selling women’s luxury gear at a discount, and that strong buzz helped it land a valuation of $1 billion when it raised money last year. But Gilt had less success branching into full-priced menswear, local services and food.

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Huawei's Ally: IBM

Spencer E. Ante — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 12:30:37 +0000

Congressional critics allege Huawei Technologies Co. relied on state support and stolen technology to become the world’s second-largest provider of telecom equipment. Another factor has been crucial to Huawei’s rise, say the Chinese company’s executives: IBM.

Huawei has long denied claims of bad behavior. But its practices have risen to the fore since it emerged from obscurity in the past decade to become a potent force in the telecom-equipment business.

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China's Huawei Considers an IPO

Spencer E. Ante, Telis Demos and Anupreeta Das — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 12:45:09 +0000

Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei Technologies Co. has reached out to investment banks for advice on issuing stock to the public, people familiar with the outreach said, as the company considers ways to make itself more transparent and improve its odds of winning big contracts in markets like the U.S.

The conversations with banks involve advice on how and where the telecom-equipment maker might list its stock and the types of disclosures it would have to make to facilitate such a step, the people said. The company hasn’t made a decision to proceed with an IPO or chosen a bank to handle such a transaction, the people said.

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Hype and Hope: Test Driving Google's New Glasses

Spencer E. Ante — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 19:16:13 +0000

Google’s glasses are escaping from the laboratory. But they aren’t ready for the real world yet.

I had the opportunity to test-drive the eyewear on Monday with Google Inc. co-founder Sergey Brin at the company’s New York office. The glasses are one of the projects Mr. Brin is overseeing as the head of Google X, a research lab for the Internet search giant.

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Are Flash Sales Still "Fab"ulous?

Spencer E. Ante — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 00:01:01 +0000

Venture capitalists, including Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom, have invested another $105 million in Fab.com Inc., a sign investors still see potential in the business of luxury “flash sales” even as growth rates slow and profits remain elusive.

Flash sale sites try to replicate the frenzy of designer sample sales by offering luxury products and other goods at deep discounts in sessions that can last just hours. When they broke onto the Web a few years ago, start-ups such as Gilt Groupe Inc., Rue La La and HauteLook Inc. were hailed as the next big thing.

But some smaller players have since closed and bigger flash sites have laid off workers. And most of these online retailers have yet to turn a profit, leading some observers to see them as a recession-era phenomenon whose time has passed.

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Kevin Rose: Digg Failed Because "Social Media Grew Up"

Spencer E. Ante — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 01:08:17 +0000

In his first interview since the remains of fallen social media Digg star were sold to Betaworks, Digg’s founder Kevin Rose said he sold some company shares during its venture-capital financing rounds but “did not make a lot of money.”

That was just one disappointment of several for Mr. Rose, who founded Digg in 2004 and was involved with the company off and on as an executive and director until its very end.

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Nokia's Problems Haunt Microsoft

Anton Troianovski, Sven Grundberg and Spencer E. Ante — Fri, 15 Jun 2012 06:51:03 +0000

Nokia Corp. warned Thursday that its cellphone business is quickly deteriorating and that it will cut 10,000 workers, a setback that threatens partner Microsoft Corp.’s mobile aspirations.

The companies bound themselves together last year in a last-ditch effort to compete in a smartphone market dominated by Apple Inc. and Google Inc. Now, Microsoft faces the possibility that the company responsible for two-thirds of its mobile software shipments may not be strong enough to give it influence in mobile computing.

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Foursquare Joins the Coupon Craze

Spencer E. Ante — Wed, 09 May 2012 12:00:02 +0000

Foursquare doesn’t want to be another popular — but unprofitable — social network. Its new plan to make money? Personalized coupons.

The company, which lets users alert their friends to their location by “checking in” via smartphone from coffee shops, bars and other locations, revealed for the first time that it plans to let merchants buy special placement for promotions of personalized local offers in July in a redesigned version of its app. All users will be able to see the specials, but must check into the venue to redeem them.

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The Race: Build the Instagram of Video

Jessica E. Vascellaro and Spencer E. Ante — Tue, 08 May 2012 16:44:33 +0000

Facebook Inc.’s $1 billion acquisition of photo-sharing start-up Instagram has shifted the spotlight to the newest phenomena in mobile apps: uploading personal videos from smartphones.

A growing number of start-ups are providing easy ways to share videos taken from a smartphone, enabling people to add music and text and to share the results on Facebook or another social network.

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In Facebook Deal, Board Was All but Out of Picture

Shayndi Raice, Spencer E. Ante and Emily Glazer — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 13:00:15 +0000

On the morning of Sunday, April 8, Facebook Inc.’s youthful chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, alerted his board of directors that he intended to buy Instagram, the hot photo-sharing service.

It was the first the board heard of what, later that day, would become Facebook’s largest acquisition ever, according to several people familiar with the matter. Mr. Zuckerberg and his counterpart at Instagram, Kevin Systrom, had already been talking over the deal for three days, these people said.

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