Re: Intel or IBM
IBM doesn't seem likely to me. Uncle Lou only seems to be going for the home runs now for acquisitions (read Lotus and Tivoli). He'd rather keep allocating more billions for stock buybacks, sell off an asset every year, keep cutting expenses, split the stock every once in a while (idn't big blue do for a split early next year?), and watch the stock slowly, but surely keep moving up. Why would IBM want to enter competition against CSCO, LU, and Nortel? My bet is that Lou has better things to do with the $5 Billion he just got for selling the data networking division to AT&T. Then again, that would be about the right price for Fore, now wouldn't it?
As for Intel, definitely interesting. Intel is currently buying Shiva (sorry C.J. had to mention Shiva w/o the comparison though!), and is always in the hunt for growth. Acquiring FORE would clearly signal a new strategic direction for Intel. Same argument as IBM, though, why would INTC choose to jump squarely into the competition with CSCO, LU, and Nortel? Maybe they all see networking converging, and becoming major competitors as inevitable anyway.
Good luck,
John Dodson |
