I thought this might be of interest:
March 20, 1998: 7:29 p.m. ET
Apple Computer
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Apple Computer Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs may be forced by directors to decide whether or not he wants the top spot at the computer maker, according to a report in Business Week.
The magazine, citing unnamed sources, said Apple directors will ask Jobs at a board meeting Tuesday whether he plans to stay on or make way for a permanent successor.
If he's willing to stay, he could receive as much as an 8 percent stake in the company.
However, sources tell the magazine that Jobs will not have long to decide. In fact, the board reportedly already has a successor in mind, although the candidate will only take the post is Jobs abdicates the top spot.
Asked by the magazine to comment on the reports, Jobs replied by e-mail: "Your sources are wrong."
Jobs has been flip-flopping on his status at Apple for months. It appeared he was ready to take the top spot last October, but after returning from a vacation, he told the board he didn't want the position permanently. He said he would rather stay at the held of Pixar Animation Studios. Then in December, Apple insiders told the magazine Jobs asked the board to make him an offer to keep the spot.
After turning down the board's first offer, directors sweetened it, but that still wasn't enough for Jobs, BusinessWeek reported. Directors didn't have any formal job discussions with him for about two months until several weeks ago when he asked the board during a conference call to make him another offer. The magazine said directors upped the offer to between 5 and 8 percent of Apple shares, worth about $270 million.
Analysts say Jobs wants to ensure the company is on the road to recovery before taking over. Apple is moving to shore up its product line by offering a new set-top box, code-named Columbus.
However, Jobs comes away a winner under both scenarios since his 72 percent stake in Pixar is now worth about $1 billion.
Meanwhile, Apple's stock has also been on the rise this year, soaring to just over $26 a share from less than $18 only a few months ago. |
