IBM-Sun takeover talks 'collapse'

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7985274.stm Oops........

> From: iiug@perrior.net > Subject: IBM-Sun takeover talks 'collapse' > Date: Tue, 7 Apr 2009 03:59:18 -0700 > To: informix-list@iiug.org > > http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7985274.stm > > Oops........ I was waiting until there was more news. Since there's not a lot of information about the deal, some of the reports have 'rumors' that IBM wanted exclusivity in the talks and that Sun wanted to hear from other bidders. Other articles mention that Sun's been quietly seeking bidders and that IBM was the only one to step up to the plate. If you read between the lines, it looks like IBM wants to be exclusive so that they can drop their bid and try and force Sun in to a 'take it or leave it' position, where Sun would be forced to take it or to look like damaged goods. Sort of like the Microsoft / Yahoo! talks that broke down and Microsoft walked away. Rumors had it that IBM wanted an out clause because they didn't know if the deal would pass FTC and or EU challenges. (Actually it could pass FTC but most likely would not pass EU easily.) Many still see this as posturing and that they (IBM/Sun) will continue with the talks. IBM needs Sun more than they care to admit. Here's IBM's dirty little secrets: IBM continually sells services/hardware/software in to their static customer base. IBM can only sell a finite amount of these products and needs to grow their business. Remember that 80/20 maxim... 80% of your business is with 20% of your customers? Well what happens when that pool starts to shrink and at the same time, their IT budgets start to shrink. If business isn't booming, you don't need to sell or license more MIPS on the mainframe, and you can stretch out your server's lifetime if you right sized the server to begin with. IBM's revenues shrunk, while they increased their margins on the revenue. You can only do that for so long too. So IBM has to grow their market share. Sun sells in to IBM's 'white space'. While there may be some overlap in some customers, in those cases there's usually a glass wall between the mainframe and the LUW folks. Other customers are 'anyone but IBM, and if IBM, only as the vendor of last resort...' . By purchasing Sun, IBM has access to a larger market. While this doesn't seem very important, the truth is that it would mean that IBM could leverage Sun's market share and sell not only hardware, but software and services. Or so the theory goes. ;-) This is why you will probably see IBM back at the table. Of course, I'll admit that I was disappointed in Oracle's weak attempt at a bid. I would have thought that Larry had more balls than to try and buy just the software components for 2 billion. Then Mark would be singing the praises of mySQL on InnoDB since Oracle would own both pieces... (And keeping products out of the hands of your competitors is also part of the puzzle too.) As to another partner, Cisco may be licking their chops. They would have a good corporate cultural fit, little overlap to product lines, would give them access to control the direction of Java, and it would give them an area where they can continue to expand, not to mention credibility on the server market. Cisco also has deep pockets although 6-8 Billion represents 1/4 - 1/3 of their on hand capital. Don't be too surprised if you see that deal getting announced. But what do I know? ;-) -G _________________________________________________________________ Windows Live™: Keep your life in sync. http://windowslive.com/explore?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_allup_1a_explore_042009

> > But what do I know? ;-) > > -G Apparently sweet fanny adam

Mark Townsend wrote: >> But what do I know? ;-) >> >> -G > > > Apparently sweet fanny adam You Australians are just so polite. :o) -- Cheers, Obnoxio The Clown http://obotheclown.blogspot.com The following is a disclaimer and a protest at the collection, retention and sharing of my personal mail by the morally bankrupt state. By adding a string of key words, it will guarantee that each and every mail that I send will now need to be manually viewed as it is picked up by the auto scan software. If every person in the UK does exactly the same, then the entire system will quickly become so unmanageable, so unwieldy that it will become unworkable. Key words: bomb, assassinate, president, brown, Osama, Obama, Sarkozy, Merkel, government, target, location, rocket, grenade, al-Qaeda, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan, UK, America, guns, jets, bombs, machine-gun, terrorists, MP's, pigs, troughs, France, Germany, Italy, nuclear, Korea. PPS If you are reading this because you've picked up the above keywords: I hope your parents are proud of what you have become. -- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by OpenProtect(http://www.openprotect.com), and is believed to be clean.

> Date: Tue, 7 Apr 2009 12:19:08 -0700 > From: markbtownsend@sbcglobal.net > To: im_gumby@hotmail.com > CC: iiug@perrior.net; informix-list@iiug.org > Subject: Re: IBM-Sun takeover talks 'collapse' > > > > > > But what do I know? ;-) > > > > -G > > > Apparently sweet fanny adam Sorry, that expression went way over my head. Do you speak English? ;-) I'm starting to wonder if you ate tainted 'roo meat and are now suffering the effects of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Are you still mad at me for calling your hero, Larry E, a pussy for not going after Sun as a whole? What's his problem anyways? Can't afford the jet fuel for his Mig these days? :-P _________________________________________________________________ Quick access to your favorite MSN content and Windows Live with Internet Explorer 8. http://ie8.msn.com/microsoft/internet-explorer-8/en-us/ie8.aspx?ocid=B037MSN55C0701A