Henry, you know how it is when you just have to put some of those trades in the Bottom Drawer -g-
I am not sure what the specific twist was on this situation.
But I think the point that the Gartner Analyst is making is valid. That if CMB with their auditing can let this occur, then it can happen elsewhere.
I bought some Gartner Group (IT) on Friday and mentioned it to a few folks here, as I feel it is wildly undervalued.
It is a category killer in the IT consulting area, and runs major conferences and a variety of fee based consulting services and this stock had a PE of over 100 for several years and now has a trailing PE of 12 and a forward PE of 6.8. Price to sales is 1.4 on IT
They own 28% of JPTR which is worth 500 million and IT has a mkt cap of a billion now. JPTR which is in ecommerce consulting has a price to sales of 15.4.
They are rapidly expanding into ecommerce and E B2B consulting and companies in this area have valuations 10 to 15 to 50 times higher.
I think IT is dead ripe for a takeover by some one and they just appointed a new 34 year CEO who has a background in acquisitions and sales and saw over 30 global mergers and acquisitions.... I think that he is in at CEO so that Gartner can go on the Block and Increase the shareholder value, much of which the company insiders themselves own.
biz.yahoo.com
Thursday October 7, 4:16 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
GartnerGroup Appoints Michael Fleisher President and CEO
Bill Clifford Leaves GartnerGroup to Join New Internet Company
STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 7, 1999--Gartner Group, Inc. (NYSE: IT - news), the world's leading authority on information technology (IT), today announced that its board of directors has elected Michael D. Fleisher as its next president and chief executive officer, effective immediately. Fleisher, 34, succeeds William T. Clifford, 53, who has resigned to lead a recently formed Internet venture. Fleisher, most recently executive vice president, finance and administration, and chief financial officer, was also elected to the company's board of directors, effective immediately, filling the vacancy created by Clifford's resignation.
``I look forward to leading an organization whose IT talent and expertise are unrivaled,' stated Michael Fleisher. ``Clearly, the challenge and opportunity immediately ahead lies in our ability to rapidly leverage our proven market leadership and globally recognized brand into the multitude of Internet-related needs of GartnerGroup's clientele. Our immediate focus is on ensuring cutting-edge thought leadership in our research, growing our consultative services capabilities, and investing in our e-business expertise. We will move quickly and decisively in these three areas by accelerating the appropriate investments in order to capitalize on the dynamic IT marketplace.'
``We are very excited that the board of directors unanimously selected Michael to be GartnerGroup's next CEO,' commented Manuel A. Fernandez, chairman of the board. ``Over the past seven years, Michael has played a significant role in a number of key areas at the company as a senior executive by demonstrating his ability to make and execute decisions and run successful business units. Michael possesses the energy, experience and vision that makes him the ideal executive to lead the company.'
Fernandez continued, ``Bill Clifford has been a major contributor to GartnerGroup's success in his various roles over the past seven years. As CEO, Bill managed the company through our most challenging year, highlighted by a successful spin-off of GartnerGroup from IMS Health, which concluded in July.'
William Clifford remarked, ``I've enjoyed a most fulfilling tenure at GartnerGroup. As I begin the next phase of my career, I look forward to seeing GartnerGroup and all its associates reach new heights.'
Fleisher was promoted to chief financial officer in February 1999. From 1995 to 1999, he led the mergers and acquisitions group, integrating and managing nearly 30 global acquisitions and investments. From 1993 to 1995, he headed the company's conference and events business, creating a highly profitable and rapidly growing division whose Symposium/ITxpo conferences are considered ``must attend' events by leading IT decision-makers worldwide. Before joining GartnerGroup, and while working at Bain Capital, Fleisher was instrumental in financing the management buyout of the company from Saatchi and Saatchi and preparing GartnerGroup for its successful initial public offering in October 1993. Prior to Bain Capital, Fleisher was a consultant with Bain and Company.
Paolillo was promoted to executive vice president and general manager of the company's Technology Management Group in February 1999. In this role, Paolillo managed all products and services for IT users, including Research and Advisory Services, GartnerConsulting -- User Services, GartnerMeasurement, Datapro and Executive Programs. From 1997 to 1999, Paolillo was president and chief operating officer, GartnerMeasurement, and from 1995 to 1997, she was senior vice president and controller. Paolillo joined GartnerGroup in 1993 as director of operations. Prior to joining the company, Paolillo served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Productivity, Inc., and held numerous executive and management positions at Citibank, Page America, Bristol-Myers and Price Waterhouse.
About GartnerGroup
As the world's leading authority on IT, GartnerGroup provides clients with a wide range of products and services in the areas of IT advisory services, measurement, research, decision support, analysis and consulting. Founded in 1979, with headquarters in Stamford, Conn., GartnerGroup is at the center of a global community serving Fortune 1000 companies from 80 locations worldwide. GartnerGroup's unique capabilities and resources help bring clarity to the direction of the world's hottest and most volatile industry. Additional information about the company is available on the World Wide Web at www.gartner.com.
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biz.yahoo.com
John |
