1. CPQ sold 83% interest in Alta Vista to cmgi for 16.4% interest in CMGI. CPQ and CMGI form a partnership in IT and internet area. That must not bode well with GTW which had $ 200M investment in CMGI.
2. CPQ is about ready to select a new CEO, a turnaround guy from Continental.
Dell needs to move fast if it wants to stay ahead of the curve. Acquire CPQ with Dell stock which gives Dell 16.4% equity in CMGI and the service all around the world of DEC. The combination will cut costs: administration, marketing, service, combining R&D, gain strengths from both companies, shed unprofitable business, just as some retailers abandoning CPQ products, let them be, make CPQ a part of selling direct, and stay with the winning formula and expand the internet commerce with partnership with CMGI/AV.
Should Dell not moving fast, GTW is in the wing to take advantage of CPQ situation and might even buy the company. GTW has $ 200M invested in CMGI, and an additional 16.4% ownership of CMGI will not hurt. Ted Wait in an ambitious person. As they say in China: "watch for a man with a pony tail. that dangling hair is a potent weapon".
From what I have seen lately, Dell is also , spending some of its energy for nickels and dimes: auctions of refurbish products, drkoop.com. Especially the latter shows that it is not focused, some cinics might say: what next: cremation.com?
The reaction of the market towards Dell's strategy is reflected in the past 6 months of the stock behavior. We can always blame the analysts, but remember if you are pointing the index finger to the other guy, three fingers are pointing to yourself.
I realize that many on this thread do not like to read anything other than glowing reports on Dell, and any honest perspective on Dell is considered as bear. For the records, I have 9 accounts and everyone has Dell shares in it. For those who snooze, you lose.
If Dell does not make a drastic move, even with the 4 billion additional authorized shares, the stock could possibly remain at the present level. There is an opportunity, and it let is passes by, well you know the answer. Just as an example, a new stock like WITC trading higher than DELL, well something is wrong. Nasdaq is recovering nicely but leaves Dell behind.
For those who thing that it is the other guys (analysts, MM, mutual fund managers, shorts etc) who are wrong, and in denial of self-critique, you should be happy with Dell stock performance.
For the record, I am not happy with it. Before anybody going to flame me with: "Go Sell It You Idiot" type of deragatory comments, I canm say that I have slowly been reducing my exposure to half.
Best regards to all
Paul
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