Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Macromedia...making a comeback? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: alex who wrote (2234)	6/2/1998 11:47:00 AM
From: Charlie J	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2675

A merger with Adobe is unlikely. John Warnock, the CEO of Adobe, is a very autocratic leader of that company, and what he wants is what goes there. And he doesn't like Macromedia. He especially doesn't like Macromedia Director. He helped fund what was to be a competitor to Director, but it never panned out. I disagree with an earlier comment that there isn't too much overlap in the companies' products. There is far too much overlap: Illustrator and FreeHand are direct competitors. Which one gets dropped? Illustrator, which was created by Adobe? That would mean Warnock would have to admit defeat by FreeHand. DreamWeaver competes with PageMill. DreamWeaver is better. Warnock might throw in the towel there, because PageMill was acquired, not developed in house. It just would mean admitting that the acquisition didn't work. Fireworks will compete with Photoshop (but probably only for creating web pages, since Fireworks is very much aimed at that market). Adobe and Macromedia have proposed competing file format standards for vector graphics. Which gets jettisoned? These are not complimentary companies - they look more like direct competitors to me. Finally, an earlier statement that Microsoft can't be looking at acquisitions such as Macromedia right now is probably on target. It could look too much like stifling competition even more. I don't think that acquisition rumors have anything to do at all with the current dynamics of MACR's stock price. It's a function of getting the company on the right path. Focusing on internet graphics tools seems like a pretty good path to be on these days, and I'm holding long on MACR.