RE: IT'S ABOUT INVESTMENT
RE: IT'S ABOUT INVESTMENT
Sent: 12/23/96; 10:20:37 AM
From: benoit@be.com (Benoit Schllings)
From comp.sys.mac.advocacy...
PR Newswire - December 22, 1996 22:30
FINANCIAL MSFT AAPL BE NXT IBM MOT
Microsoft purchases Be Inc for $900 million
REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- In a stunning move, Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) revealed late Sunday that it has reached agreement with Be Inc to a friendly takeover of the upstart technology wunder company. Apple had tried to reach a deal with closely held software company Be Inc., founded by former Apple executive, Jean-Louis Gasse, but the talks broke down and the company turned to Microsoft for help. The move follows industry rumours that Intel Corp. held active conversations with Be CEO Jean-Louis Gasse about porting its operating system to the Pentium.
At a press conference in Redmond, Gasse said "I feel very lucky to be a part-time Microsoft employee and work for Bill and advise him on product strategy." Peter Hartsook, respected industry analyst commented, "This deal makes sense for Microsoft. It is a classic Gatesian pre-emtive strike. Microsoft has been copying Apple for the last 10 years, so when Apple hired Steve Jobs back, it came as no surprise that Gates would also hire an ex-Apple employee." Microsoft's update to its ageing Windows95 technology is apparently in disarray - with the collapse of Copland, Microsoft had no idea where to go. At the Redmond press conference, Bill Gates said, "With Be Inc's inbuilt database OS technology, internet users everywhere will be able to take our Open Road and easily search the Internet to locate long-lost relatives, old college roommates and friends they haven't spoken to in years." When asked by a reporter whether the deal had Faustian overtones, Gasse replied to fits of laughter that at $1 billion, he was happy to dance the Totentanz.
|
This page was last built on Mon, Dec 23, 1996 at 1:18:36 PM. The messages in this site are responses to DaveNet essays. |