Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Remember the rumor back in February that Google was buying Plaxo for $200 million? Well, for the most part, it turned out to be a trumor.  However, instead of Google making the purchase, it turns out that Comcast is doing the buying. The cable company plans to utilize Plaxo to deliver upcoming social-networking features currently in the works for their TV, Internet, and phone service. Plaxo will be used to bridge all three Comcast services together, linking devices such as TVs, DVRs, and wireless devices. The terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed, but the two companies have already been working together in developing SmartZone, an online portal available to millions of Comcast broadband and phone customers that provides easy access to several communications tools (e.g., email and voicemail)—all in one place.

Plaxo was founded in 2001 with an original premise of keeping users’ address books updated by automatically sharing data among friends. With the emergence of social networking sites, the start up company now offers capabilities to keep in touch with family and friends by sharing photos, videos, and messages. According to the Plaxo blog:

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CBS and CNET Network has sealed an acquisition agreement that could probably be the next biggest acquisition deal after the failed Microsoft-Yahoo deal. Although the price involved in this acquisition is not as big as the Microsoft-Yahoo deal, the fact is both CBS and CNET Network own some of the most popular internet properties and combining them would elevate CBS into the ranks of the 10 most popular Internet companies in the US.

For a purchase price of $11.50 per share, CBS hopes to acquire CNET Networks by the close of the third quarter this year. Luckily for them, the CNET Board has unanimously approved the proposed deal valued at $1.8 billion.

This deal would certainly be most favorable to CBS, since if you combined the unique visitors of its Internet properties with that of CNET Networks, the company would gain around 54 million unique users per month, with a total of around 200 million users worldwide. This is certainly not a bad deal at all for both companies.

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It is getting tough to tell who’s side is whose in the terrestrial vs extra terrestrial battle going on as all consider the merger of XM and Sirius radio.  Some, like the Department of Justice, see no problems.  Others like two lawmakers who on Friday announced we should take a good, long, hard look at the damage a satellite radio merger might reap and how they should protect us.

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Well after all the hype during these past three months Microsoft has withdrawn their bid for Yahoo. With the final offer coming in at $33 per share or a total of $47.5 billion, that was just not enough to match the $37 per share or $53 billion that Yahoo was requesting. Steve Ballmer was also later quoted as stating that Microsoft would not proceed with a hostile takeover because they felt Yahoo “would take steps that would make Yahoo undesirable as an acquisition for Microsoft.”

That is that, the deal is dead.

Read [Yahoo! News]

Saturday’s deadline passed with no deal for Microsoft and Yahoo. The two companies have been negotiating for sometime now after Microsoft expressed interest in acquiring it’s rival web portal. Now Microsoft is deciding whether to launch a hostile takeover via proxy fight or to simply drop the deal. Yahoo had no comment but Microsoft CFO Chris Liddell had this to say:

“Unless we make progress with Yahoo towards an agreement by this weekend, we will reconsider our alternatives. We will provide updates as appropriate next week, these alternatives clearly including taking an offer to the Yahoo shareholders, or to withdraw our proposal and focus on other opportunities, both organic and inorganic.”

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Blockbuster is all set to acquire Circuit City, hoping it would become a very huge electronic gadget chain aside from being a global provider of movies and gaming entertainment.

Blockbuster is reportedly willing to bid over $1 billion, larger than the company’s current value in the stock market, to create a chain similar to the Apple Inc.’s stores. Combining the two companies together, a 9,300 store chain will be readily available to sell movies, games, and gadgets to the US. If and when the deal is finalized, Blockbuster movies and games for sale or rental will be carried by Circuit City stores nationwide while Blockbuster stores will also sell electronics and gadgets.

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While the deal has not been made official just yet, Acer has announced having entering into an agreement to purchase E-Ten. For those unfamiliar, E-Ten is a mobile phone maker, who has been getting well known for their Windows Mobile-based Glofiish smartphone lineup.

It is being reported that the deal is going for $290 million and as of now both Acer and E-Ten have approved the deal. The deal is still awaiting the official government approval before it becomes final. That regulatory approval is expected to come sometime during Q3 2008.

Via [IntoMobile]

T-Mobile has wrapped up the acquisition of SunCom Wireless. A deal that was first announced back in September 2007 and received FCC approval on February 8th, it will allow 1.1 million customers from North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands to consider T-Mobile as a provider. Additionally this puts T-Mobile in 98 of the top 100 national markets.

Read [T-Mobile]

Though Yahoo rejected its “undervalued” bid, Microsoft’s part-time chairman Bill Gates said the show must go on and the software giant will continue to invest heavily on Web search to snatch sizeable share away from Google.

Gates boasts Microsoft has enough resources to invest in engineering and marketing. However, he also admitted that Yahoo’s superior engineering technology and manpower will help fast track development. But the whole Microhoo deal may not be over yet. Many analysts expect Microsoft to sweeten the deal and open negotiations with a bid of $35 per share. Although Gates reiterated that the offer was “full and fair”, he did not elaborate further on the next steps of this acquisition talks. Going solo may not be the best move for Microsoft, considering the dominant leadership and know-how of Google. Without Yahoo, it will be very difficult or even hopeless to advance.

Good luck with that, Microsoft. If your plans don’t work out, you can always change the Wikipedia entry and say it did.

Read [Reuters]

While official details have not been announced on the Danger acquisition, Om Malik is speculating that Microsoft paid $500 million. Further speculation is that early investors got modest returns on the sale, but the later stage investors made out “like bandits.” Om Malik is also noted as saying:

The deal’s big sticker price is intriguing — leading me to believe that Microsoft wants to pull an Xbox on its mobile phone business.

Could this mean Microsoft is preparing to offer up some real competition with Android?

Via [CNET]