Research In Motion: Vulnerable to a Takeover Bid? Part 3
If you can stand another post on the topic of Microsoft (MSFT) potentially acquiring Research In Motion (RIMM), there are two points to make as the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend begins.
The first regards Canaccord Adams research analyst Peter Misek’s comments to Reuters on Thursday when he was asked about my original Wednesday post (see prior post “Does RIM’s weak share price bring on a takeover bid?“). Mr. Misek said, and I quote:
RIM is a massive strategic fit” for Microsoft. I’m fairly certain they have a standing offer to buy them at $50 (a share).
Can you imagine how Mr. Misek could have ever come by this information? Did Steve Ballmer whisper it in his ear a year or two ago the annual
Not to put too fine a point on it, and this is just my opinion of course, but I think it is safe to say that Mr. Misek has no concrete foundation for the “$50 standing order” notion -Zippo. When was the last time you ever saw a hostile tech M&A deal announced where the buyer thought a seller would tender for 10 times earnings, which is what Mr. Misek infers with this powerful story. The last time RIM traded in a range where $50/share might have presented an attractive premium to the then quote was the fall of 2006. Which means that for two years, Mr. Misek has been carrying this burden around in his brain, and was just dying for the chance to drop the “exclusive bomb” on an unsuspecting journal? I doubt that.
The other thing that seemed worthy of raising was Oracle (ORCL) CEO Larry Ellison’s comments at his AGM. This from the WSJ:
Ellison Says Oracle Is Eyeing Acquisitions
Oracle Corp. Chief Executive Larry Ellison said his company might take advantage of the slumping economy to acquire other software companies at a buyer’s price.
“Acquisitions that we have been looking at for some time may now be more attractive,” Mr. Ellison said Friday at the software giant’s annual meeting of stockholders. He added that he expects to target small-but-growing companies rather than large publicly traded ones.
Oracle didn’t make the list of potential suitors for RIM, but the point that Mr. Ellison sees the current market meltdown as an opportunity to go shopping for strategic acquisitions is very much in keeping with the original MSFT/RIM storyline….
Disclosure: I own RIM.
Related Articles
|
Hedge Fund Jobs
Job Seekers: Search jobs by category, get job alerts by email or live feed, apply online See full list of jobs »
Employers: See all recruitment options, get applications online or by email Post a job »
Trading Center
- Free E-Newsletters
- About Seeking Alpha
- About Us
- Contact Us
- What's New
- Readers Feedback
- Advertise With Us
- Contributors
- Contribute an Article
- Feature Your Book
- Our Contributors
- Anonymous Contributions
- Dispute an Article?
- Legal
- Terms of Use
- Privacy
- Copyright
More by Mark McQueen