Dr. Gil will step down if Apple is taken over by Mr. Ellison, hence he
insists that Apple is not for sale. However, if the offered price is
accepted by major shareholders, then Dr. Gil has no right to reject the deal.
I truly believe that Mr. Ellison is serious this time, but he will not let
public know his bidding price and his real intentions. Actually, Mr. Ellison
is running out of his time as Microsoft is getting larger and stronger
(look at its decent earning and recent strong stock price), and hence he has
to make up his mind to either take Apple or drop it sooner rather than later.
I think without his takeover on Apple, Apple is still on the right track, and
its stock will be getting popular and higher after summer. If he takes over
the company, the team, made up of him and Jobs, will be the strongest ever in
Apple's history. I think Jobs will be more confortable working with
Ellison (IMHO).
I would bet 70% that Mr. Ellison will take over Apple with an acceptable
offered price after the meetings between Ellison and software developers, as
well as Ellison and major investors in May. If it occurs, we will never see
whether or not Dr. Gil's plan will work. Mr. Ellison will execute his NC
dream, as well as continue on new OS development and all APIs.
-IMHO |
