“Whether a deal by Dell Inc. to purchase Palm Inc. is truly in the offing, an acquisition would make sense for both companies, three analysts said [Monday],” Matt Hamblen reports for Computerworld. “However, at least one additional analyst said the time has already passed for such a deal, which was first rumored at least two years ago.”
“‘Palm is vulnerable, and Dell has cash,’ said Yankee Group Research Inc. analyst Carl Howe. ‘A merger sounds like a good idea,'” Hamblen reports. “Kevin Burden, an analyst at ABI Research Inc., said he first studied rumors that Dell might buy Palm two years ago. ‘Dell buying Palm still makes a lot of sense,’ he said, since, compared with vendors such as Hewlett-Packard Co., ‘Dell stands to benefit the most by acquiring it.'”
Hamblen reports, “Burden said if the Pre takes off, Palm would not need a partner like Dell, but he added, ‘it depends how fast they get that Pre out.’ As it stands, the Pre’s success is tied to the fortunes of Sprint Nextel Inc., the exclusive carrier of the Pre. And given Sprint’s lackluster financial prospects, the Pre could be affected, Burden said. Sprint has said the Pre will launch in the first half of the year. ‘If Sprint doesn’t perform the way Palm needs it to perform, that could kill the momentum Palm wants to build,’ Burden said.”
Hamblen reports, “Jack Gold, an analyst at J.Gold Associates LLC, said two years ago that Dell might buy Palm, but he changed his tune in an interview today, saying ‘I think they have both missed the window of opportunity.’ It’s more likely that Dell would buy an Asian handheld maker such as Asustek Computer Inc., Acer Inc. or HTC Corp, Gold said.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: At least a Palm+Dell merger would spawn the perfect name: Pall. Seriously, two wrongs do not make a right. Dell’s a mess, but Palm is in even worse shape. If Palm’s Pre is so special and Palm itself is so cheap, why hasn’t anyone bought Palm yet? Could it possibly be because the Pre isn’t so special, or perhaps it is, but only because of some dicey, questionable IP issues? Regardless of the reason, nobody seems to be much interested in Palm, not matter how much they dangle their “Pre” buyout bait. Something about Palm must be toxic: past missteps, current malaise, lack of confidence that the world needs or wants yet another wannabe iPhone mobile platform… Whatever it is, why hasn’t anyone snapped up Palm already?
