It's IT Blogwatch: in which it's rumored that Salesforce.com is asking Oracle to buy it. Not to mention the real story behind Pacman...
Tom Foremski reports:
I'm hearing from a reliable source that Salesforce.com has approached Oracle to gauge if there is any interest in a sale at $75 a share ... Larry Ellison will have to buy Salesforce at some point anyway. Netsuite cannot be scaled to the size of Salesforce in this decade, maybe in the next. The two businesses could be easily integrated. [more]
Paul Glazowski adds:
Salesforce.com, the on-demand CRM specialist, is doing pretty well for itself. Its got a solid customer base just shy of 40k. Its got a suite of powerful enterprise-level Web applications. Its stock price, presently sitting around $50, is at a decent spot, too. And all bullet points stated above are reasons for Marc Benioff and his company to pitch themselves for sale to Oracle, the business management software giant ... I consider it a possibility ... An acquisition could benefit both entities. [more]
Fa-la-la-la-la, it's Duncan Riley:
'Tis the season for deal speculation ... If Oracle did take the deal, it would value Salesforce at just shy of $9 billion ... Salesforces stock has weathered the stock market downturn fairly well, closing at $50.86 Friday, down from a peak of $64 in December. However ,a deal at $75 a share is still down from speculation of a deal at $80-$85 a share ... in June 2007. [more]
But Vinnie Mirchandani shudders at the thought:
salesforce.com in play? ... I hope not. I have complimented Marc Benioff before on breaking the industry mold. I hope he continues to and expands the company's functional footprint ... If it happens, it better be at a whopping premium - because other than with Google (which would bring a separate set of business model issues), it would be one painful integration for the salesforce team. Rarely do pioneers integrate well with larger, more set companies in their sector. [more]
Zack Miller waxes wistful:
Ah, rumors. The stuff that makes stocks go up and down. At least juicy rumors keep things interesting ... I feel like this tie-up has been telegraphed from the inception of Salesforce.com as an organization ... Salesforce's effervescent (understatement) CEO, Mark Benioff, came out of Oracle and could play the role of Larry Ellison's successor. Benioff knows he has some great assets and is looking to best capture their value. [more]
Louis Columbus sets the wayback machine to "stun":
Speculation of Salesforce.com being for sale has been sporadically mentioned by bloggers and the media, including a prediction by IDC in early 2007 that the company would be sold last year. [more]
Dennis Howlett:
[I] view Oracle as the only natural home for Salesforce.com, largely based on the cultural fit but also because Oracle doesnt have a big brand presence in the on-demand market. A sticking point might be Larry Ellisons assertion that cloud computing isnt for Oracle at this time ... Or it could all be an ugly rumor spread for the benefit of a press currently obsessed with the antics over at Microhoo. [more]
And finally...
- Stuck: the real story behind Pacman [hat tip: b3ta]
Buffer overflow:
- Carla Schroder: Help, my motherboard doesn't see my SATA drives
- Groklaw: SCO Asks Bankruptcy Court to Set April 11 as "Bar Date" For Proofs of Claims
- Michael Arrington: Microsofts $80 billion (and growing) Yahoo Headache
- Erick Schonfeld: The Futility of Fighting Media PiratesHow MediaDefender Got Hacked
- Rob Hof: So, What Now for Microsoft and Yahoo? More Fancy Footwork
- Eric Bangeman: EarthLink hangs "for sale" sign on municipal WiFi business
- 9 to 5 Mac: $100 price drop on iPhones and iPods coming in the next two months
- Curt Monash: The comprehensive guide to upgrading or replacing Twitter
Other Computerworld bloggers:
- Mitch Betts: Bad combo: Hackers with SEO skills
- Mike Elgan: WiFi coming to trains, planes and automobiles
- Mitch Betts: Even ferry commuters get Wi-Fi
- Mike Elgan: Never see the inside of a bank again?
- David DeJean: How Many Versions of Vista?
- Frank Hayes: And speaking of IPv6...
- Michael R. Farnum: Get your assessment done!
- Seth Weintraub: Safari is about to get crazy fast
- Ken Gagne: The cure for a hungry, sleepy laptop
- Don Tennant: Dell (not Michael) responds
- Mark Hall: Interview for money
- Shark Tank: That'll show 'em!
- Michael R. Farnum: OS Cage Match
- Douglas Schweitzer: Good News, and we can expect more
- Shark Bait: Customer Service is a 5
Richi Jennings is an independent analyst/adviser/consultant, specializing in blogging, email, and spam. A 20 year, cross-functional IT veteran, he is also an analyst at Ferris Research. You too can pretend to be Richi's friend on Facebook, or just use boring old email: blogwatch@richi.co.uk.
Previously in IT Blogwatch:
- Live! video! streaming! from! Yahoo! (and logohist)
- Yahoo sees Microsoft deal price cheapen (and warningz)
- Cut cables? Conspiracy conjectures! (and SP1 soon?)