More on Paul Allen/Vulcan/GNET bid and AXC:
Just to clarify for the thread, nobody was surprised that Allen's $90 per share tender offer failed to attract any interest. Insiders consented to the $90 per share because they controlled a lot of stock. By agreeing to sell to Allen 1.4 million shares, they got the deal done--bringing in, along with the newly issued stock, a total of $426.3 million--and greatly enhanced the value of the rest of their shares. This was an elegant Win-Win deal.
The only question is whether Allen wants more than 34 percent of GNET. Now that GNET's stock is so strong (and the company has so much cash), the longer Allen waits to make up his mind, the more he'll have to pay up to get to 51 percent or more. (GNET will probably acquire at least 3 more properties this year and it's already running on all cylinders. For instance, its Hypermart commercial Web site hosting operation now has over 275,000 "video-challenged" business customers!) Still, 34 percent gives Allen a strong voting block (2 out of 5 director seats).
Again, from our perspective (and presumably, GNET's), it's really not important how much of GNET Allen owns. He has a vested interest in broadband and GNET will be his aggregation vehicle. In the scheme of things, AXC is unique. A strategic relationship with AXC can really ignite GNET's broadband role while funding AXC's Net ventures. There's just no better match.
BAM
P.S. Did it sink in?! Let me repeat this jewel: 275,000+ commercial Web site customers in need of streaming multimedia support! Growing at the rate of more than 1,000 new customers a day! You get dizzy just thinking about it!
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