HP TO ACUIRE PALM FOR $1.2 , IS McAFEE NEXT ?

[Anonymous]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100428/ap_on_hi_te/us_hp_palm;_ylt=A0wNdPhXmthLft4AixSyBhIF;_ylu=X3oDMTJiNWo2aTU0BGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwNDI4L3VzX2hwX3BhbG0EY3BvcwMxBHBvcwMxBHNlYwN5bl90b3Bfc3RvcnkEc2xrA2hwdG9hY3F1aXJlcA–
HP to acquire Palm for nearly $1 bln
in cash
PALO ALTO, Calif. – Computer maker
Hewlett-Packard Co. has agreed to acquire struggling smart phone  maker
Palm Inc. for nearly $1 billion  in cash.The companies announced
Wednesday they had agreed to the deal, which will see HP pay $5.70 for
every Palm common share. Palm had closed trading Wednesday at $4.63 but
traded as high as $18.09 in the past 52 weeks.When debt is included, the
deal values Palm at $1.2 billion.

The transaction is expected to
close by the end of July.HP said Palm’s webOS operating system will
help it participate more aggressively in the fast-growing market for
smart phones and connected mobile devices. It also said Palm’s current
chairman and CEO, former Apple Inc. executive Jon Rubinstein, is
expected to remain with the company.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/04/26/hp_mcafee_acquisition_speculation/http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/04/26/hp_mcafee_acquisition_speculation/
Investors bullish on report HP will
acquire McAfee
Keeping
Cisco at bay
Wall Street investors showed new optimism in
the shares of anti-virus provider McAfee after financial analysts
speculated it may be acquired by Hewlett-Packard.On Monday, shares in
McAfee rose $1.44 to $41.57, the biggest gain in two months following a
report from Friedman Billings Ramsey & Co. that an acquisition of
the security software company would help HP compete against Cisco
Systems. Trading in options, which give an investor that right to buy
shares at an agreed-upon price, reached its highest level in close to a
decade, according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

More than 31,500
call options to buy McAfee stock changed hands during regular trading on
Monday. That was 81 times the four-week average and 10 time the level
for puts to sell, the publication said. The most active options were
those to buy McAfee at $45 by June 18, followed by those to buy the
shares at $45 by May 21. McAfee hasn’t closed above that amount since
October, according to Yahoo Finance.”The addition of McAfee would
significant strengthen the company’s presence in security and develop a
competitive edge” on Cisco, the Friedman Billings report stated. It went
on to predict that mergers and acquisitions in the software industry
would accelerate this year and next.The spike in the number of options
for May and June are signs that some investors agree. They stand to
profit if McAfee shares rise above $45

[Author]

May 3, 2010 at 11:36 AM