Hasta La Gadget!

This one has been flying under the radar for the past day or so, but talk is starting to heat up on some forums that Segway Inc. has effectively been bought out by one of its own dealerships. That initial word seems to have come from a Segway Inc. shareholder, who says he recently received a stockholder letter informing him that Segway Inc. would be “merging” with JWH Holdings, which is apparently a company formed by Segway UK simply for the purpose of this merger. What’s more, while the deal is apparently being called a merger, the letter itself reportedly confirms that it’s more of a complete buyout, with current CEO Jim Norrod supposedly set to be replaced by Tricia Laidler, and Segway UK’s Wayne Mitchell stepping up to be the new COO. Still nothing in the way of official statements from either party just yet, but we’ll let you know as soon as we hear anything one way or the other.

[Thanks, Ed J]

Segway Inc. bought by Segway UK? originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 13 Jan 2010 17:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We told you we had a feeling this thing was happening — less than a day after GE consolidated ownership of NBC Universal in preparation to spin it off and sell a controlling stake to Comcast, CNBC is reporting that the deal is actually done and will be announced Thursday morning. As rumored from the start, Comcast will now own 51 percent of NBC to GE’s 49 percent, and the new company will fold in Comcast’s various content assets, which means the new NBC will rival Disney in size. That’s a big enchilada, and it should make the future of Comcast initiatives like TV Everywhere extremely interesting. Of course, all this still has to go through the FCC and FTC, and we wouldn’t expect anything to be approved and finalized for a year, but none of that takes away from the magnitude of this deal. We’ll obviously know more in a couple days, stay tuned.

Comcast deal to buy NBC is done, will be announced Thursday originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s hard to say if these guys were just looking to get this whole thing finalized before the holiday break, but either way, all the requisite i’s have been dotted and t’s crossed. As of today, Sprint Nextel has acquired Virgin Mobile USA — a process that began back in late July — and frankly, there’s nothing you can do about it. The move will obviously position Sprint as a bigger player in the prepaid space, but outside of that presumably true assumption, it’s tough to say what else the newfound lovers will do together. So, will the Facebook statuses be updated soon as well? Hello?

Sprint finalizes Virgin Mobile USA acquisition, rushes out to snag some cranberry sauce originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s been a little while since we’ve seen a good multi-billion dollar acquisition, but HP’s sure come through in a big way today, announcing that it plans to acquire networking giant 3Com in an all-cash deal valued at $2.7 billion, or $7.90 a share. The deal will, of course, still have to clear a few regulatory hurdles and receive the approval of 3Com’s stockholders, but it has already been given the go-ahead by both company’s boards of directors, and HP expects the transaction to close in the first half of 2010. Not surprisingly, HP sees nothing but pluses with the acquisition, saying that it will do nothing short of “transform the networking industry,” and “enable customers to build a next-generation network infrastructure that supports customer needs from the edge of the network to the heart of the data center.” Equally optimistic but slightly cooler on the world-changing language is 3Com CEO Bob Mao, who says that its company’s “extensive product line and innovative technology together with HP’s breadth and scale will expand our global opportunity.”

Filed under: Networking

HP to acquire 3Com in $2.7 billion deal originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Eerily mirroring the situation with T-Mobile in the UK, disgruntled Deutsche Telekom shareholders are apparently now turning their attention to the company’s US outpost, now that the British woes are on the fast track to resolution thanks to a tie-up with Orange. The Financial Times is reporting that the bell isn’t tolling quite yet for T-Mobile USA — key players are still on board with the company’s plan to get back into the game with an accelerated 3G rollout, which means that alternative strategies aren’t actively being considered right this second. Word has it that the clock has been set for mid-2010, though, at which point red ink on the balance sheet is going to mean a more drastic change in direction — something like a merger with Sprint or a move to transform the carrier into an ultra-value brand concentrating on prepaid service with a possible MetroPCS or Leap / Cricket buy. What color do you get when you combine magenta and yellow, anyway?

Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless

Sprint buy apparently not on the table for Deutsche Telekom — yet originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 15 Sep 2009 22:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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