“Palm Inc. has seen its market value soar over the past six months on anticipation of the company’s new smartphone, but analysts are wondering whether investors are betting on the company becoming a buyout target for a hungry buyer,” Dan Gallagher reports for Dow Jones Newswires.
“With its current market value around the $2 billion mark, Palm could be easily digested by a large-cap tech company with a fat balance sheet,” Gallagher reports.
“‘I think people are connecting the dots, and Wall Street wants to play this game,’ said Matthew Thornton of Avian Securities,” Gallagher reports. “Makers of high-tech products interested in the wireless space must either figure out how to build their own products from scratch or acquire someone already there. ‘RIM is too big. Apple is too big. Motorola has problems. When you look at all the assets that are available, what you have left is Palm,’ he said. ‘So some of the rationale does make sense.'”
“Last week, two brokers speculated that PC maker Dell might have an interest in buying Palm. Shaw Wu of Kaufman Bros., who has previously reported on Dell’s efforts to build its own smartphone, noted that the company just raised $1 billion in a debt offering and had broadcast its intention to look at big acquisitions,” Gallagher reports. “Ashok Kumar of Collins Stewart said Dell’s past record on acquisitions has been spotty and the company faces a challenge to be able to grow its revenue organically from its existing business. ‘The converged-device arena is shaping up to be a land grab and Dell has a window to capture mind-share via Palm,’ he wrote in a report.”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: We’re a bit ahead of the “analysts.” Luckily, you can read it here first or wait 6 months for them to start figuring it out.
Our take from January 21, 2009: “Palm’s Pre dog and pony show is nothing more than takeover bait. They simply do not have the resources necessary to create another mobile platform, especially one that is superfluous. If Palm’s Pre is not a ruse, then those responsible are kidding themselves.”
[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “iSteve” for the heads up.]
