Google outbid itself by 33 percent in Motorola Mobility acquisition, SEC filing reveals

Google’s acquisition of Motorola Mobility is already starting to lose that new car smell, but a fresh batch of financial details has now emerged, providing deeper insight into how the deal actually went down. According to an SEC filing that Motorola Mobility released yesterday, Google made an initial offer of $30 per share on August 1st, but soon raised that bid to $37 per share on August 9th, after Moto and its advisers asked for $43.50. On that same day, Google again raised its offer to $40 per share, even though Motorola wasn’t accepting bids from other firms, for fear that a public auction would jeopardize its sale. This 33 percent increase ultimately added some $3 billion to the pot, bringing the final price tag to $12.5 billion. A Mountain View spokeswoman declined to comment on the negotiations, though its aggressive bidding suggests that the search giant desperately wanted the deal to go through. The documents also reveal that patent-related issues were at the forefront of discussions from the very beginning, when Google’s Senior Vice President Andy Rubin met with Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha to talk about their mutual concerns, way back in July. According to the Wall Street Journal, these talks eventually convinced Jha that his company would be better off under Google’s stewardship, amid fears that Moto could get swallowed by the stormy seas of patent litigation — anxieties that the exec made all too apparent just four days before the merger was announced. You can dig through the full SEC filing at the source link below.

Google outbid itself by 33 percent in Motorola Mobility acquisition, SEC filing reveals originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Sep 2011 04:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD taps Lenovo’s Rory Read to be President and CEO

AMD has finally found itself a permanent CEO. The company today named Rory P. Read to the post, also announcing that he’ll serve as President and as a member of the board of directors. Read most recently served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Lenovo, and spent 23 years serving in a variety of roles at IBM prior to that. He replaces AMD CFO Thomas Seifert (now returning to his original role), who had been serving as interim CEO since the departure of Dirk Meyer — who himself only became CEO in 2008 when Hector Ruiz stepped down. For his part, Read says that he’s “very pleased to be joining AMD at this important time in its history,” and that “AMD is a true innovator and is uniquely positioned to lead the industry forward, delivering the next big thing both within the PC ecosystem and beyond.” The company’s full press release is after the break.

Continue reading AMD taps Lenovo’s Rory Read to be President and CEO

AMD taps Lenovo’s Rory Read to be President and CEO originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Geek.com’s top Steve Jobs moments

After a legendary run as the CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs has resigned from the position. He will be staying close to the company’s product development and will be the Chairman of the Board of Directors, but Jobs’ day-to-day involvement in the company will be scaled back as Tim Cook takes the reins. In honor […]

Apple’s new CEO Tim Cook addresses employees in staff letter

With less than 24 hours under his belt as the new CEO of Apple, Tim Cook has sent a letter to the company’s staff this morning, thanking his predecessor, and predicting bright things for Apple’s future. The note reads, in part,

I am confident our best years lie ahead of us and that together we will continue to make Apple the magical place that it is.

Read the full text of the letter after the break.

Continue reading Apple’s new CEO Tim Cook addresses employees in staff letter

Apple’s new CEO Tim Cook addresses employees in staff letter originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 10:33:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink 9to5 Mac  |  sourceArs Technica  | Email this | Comments

Steve Jobs’ Apple: a timeline

Let there be no question: ours would be a very different industry, were it not for Steve Jobs. Few, if any individuals have had so profound an effect on their given spaces; a unprecedented track record that began in 1976 with the co-founding of Apple. In earliest incarnation, the company would prove the driving force of the personal computer explosion of the early ’80s, beginning with the Apple II — one of the industry’s first hugely popular microcomputers. The Macintosh shook things up yet again, a launch celebrated by the debut of the “1984” ad during that year’s Superbowl. That line helped break both the graphical user interface and the mouse to a massive audience.

Soon after, Jobs would resign, going on to form NeXT. The company never managed sales figures anywhere near the previous endeavor, but its products would prove highly influential, forming, among other things, the basis of Apple’s paradigm-shifting OS X operating system. While Steve Jobs was focused on NeXT and The Graphic Group — the company that would later morph into the far more familiar Pixar — Apple suffered a series of defeats.

Gallery: Steve Jobs

Continue reading Steve Jobs’ Apple: a timeline

Steve Jobs’ Apple: a timeline originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Aug 2011 20:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple

Jobs

A major development out of Cupertino: Apple CEO Steve Jobs has stepped down, the board naming Tim Cook as his replacement. The company said “Steve’s extraordinary vision and leadership saved Apple and guided it to its position as the world’s most innovative and valuable technology company.”

Steve himself published the following letter:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

Steve

Apple has confirmed that Jobs will stay on as Chairman. Full details in the PR after the break.

Continue reading Steve Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple

Steve Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Aug 2011 18:35:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Clearwire: Erik Prusch to take over as CEO

Precisely five months since the last time Clearwire had a permanent CEO in place, a new boss has been selected to take the place of Bill Morrow. Being promoted to the position is Erik Prusch, the company’s Chief Operating Officer, who will be faced with a monstrous challenge: secure roughly $600 million in capital to fund Clearwire’s buildout of LTE. If none can be found, the company will be completely out of cash by the end of 2012. Fortunately, he’s got some talent to help him in the arduous quest; backing Prusch as the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors will be John Stanton, who’s served as the interim CEO since Morrow’s departure. Given the situation, it’s a difficult position to be placed in — either he’ll be the hero that saves the company, or the villain responsible for taking it down. Check out the full press release after the break.

Continue reading Clearwire: Erik Prusch to take over as CEO

Clearwire: Erik Prusch to take over as CEO originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 10 Aug 2011 16:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Verizon promotes Lowell McAdam to CEO, Ivan Seidenberg stays on as Chairman

Verizon promotes Lowell McAdam to CEO, Ivan Seidenberg stays on as Chairman

Ivan Seidenberg, the man who took the helm as Big Red steered its ship into the iPhone’s waters, is stepping down as CEO effective August 1st, the completion of a succession plan that’s been underway since last year. His replacement? Current President Lowell McAdam, who helped lead the charge to bring Apple’s smartphone to the company’s subscribers — and who proudly stood on stage with Apple’s Tim Cook to announce it. Seidenberg will remain Chairman for the time being to help aid in the transition, and while we’re not sure for just how long that will be, we wonder if maybe he’s not just waiting to pick up a Bionic before heading out.

Continue reading Verizon promotes Lowell McAdam to CEO, Ivan Seidenberg stays on as Chairman

Verizon promotes Lowell McAdam to CEO, Ivan Seidenberg stays on as Chairman originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 22 Jul 2011 07:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink TechCrunch  |  sourceVerizon  | Email this | Comments

Kaz Hirai to become Sony Computer Entertainment Chairman, leave Andrew House with tough CEO gig

When you’ve had to deal out as many public apologies as Sony has had to perform over its protracted PSN hacking saga, the typical expectation is that someone somewhere will be getting fired or “reshuffled” into a new post. No firings at PlayStation headquarters, however our old pal Kaz Hirai is getting a new position as Sony Computer Entertainment Chairman, with Andrew House succeeding him in the CEO hot seat. Mr. House was previously Sony’s PlayStation chief in Europe, so he’s simply stepping up to be responsible for the company’s global operations, but Kaz’s new duties are less clearly defined. Both changes will go into effect on September 1st, a day after current Chairman Akira Sato retires, giving both Kaz and Andrew a little time to get accustomed to their new(ish) surroundings before tackling Sony’s massively important PS Vita launch at the tail end of the year.

Kaz Hirai to become Sony Computer Entertainment Chairman, leave Andrew House with tough CEO gig originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 29 Jun 2011 04:47:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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10,000 year clock project gets mountain, $42M from Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, music from Brian Eno

‘Let’s face it; a lot of people in this world are shortsighted. When warned about the future dangers caused by global warning, many people think so what? I’ve got a hundred years on this earth at most and then the next generation can deal with it? Our civilization has historically had a problem with planning […]