Month: August 2010

Skype Files for IPO

Skype, the Internet telephony company, is looking to raise up to $100 million in an initial public offering, according to an S-1 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company will be selling American Depositary Shares (ADSs) and will trade on the NASDAQ Global Market. The offering will be managed by Goldman, Sachs & Co., J.P. Morgan, Morgan Stanley and others. The offering was widely viewed as in the cards, though I admit it came sooner than I thought. Skype’s decision to go public is a result of the company turning into a cash machine. It currently has 560...

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Google acquires Slide, Wants To Build More “Social” Web

Google has purchased Slide, founded by PayPal co-founder Max Levchin and makes widgets that help people express themselves, for $228 million. This seems like their next stem in creating a huge social network that will rival Facebook in years to come. Google’s message regarding the acquisition was rather vague, and not much is known about the deal as of now.However, Google does want to incorporate the acquisition with Google Games, the cornerstone of which is their deal with Zynga, makers of the Facebook game...

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Samsung, Toshiba and Others Accused of LCD Screen Price Fixing

Samsung, Toshiba, Sharp, LG and other major electronics companies have been accused by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo of fixing, or causing a change in price, on their LCD screens. It is reported that these companies had secret meetings to discuss the minimum prices, increases, and rates of LCD screens that were to be sold to computer manufactures. “Our investigation shows that an illegal cartel eliminated competition in the marketplace for LCD screens, made its own secret decisions to boost prices, and then took steps to make those high prices stick,” said Attorney General Cuomo. “As a result, hard-pressed New York cities, towns, schools and hospitals spent hundreds of millions of dollars on LCD screens affected by the illegal conspiracy. My office is bringing this case to get those illegal overcharges back.” said Cuomo regarding the lawsuit. Of the companies associated in the lawsuit Hitachi, LG, Toshiba, Sharp, AU Optronics and Chi Mei did not respond to a request for a comment. An official from Samsung said it was company policy not to comment on any pending legal issues. The lawsuit also claims that the companies created reports to make it seem as if the price raises were due to supply and demand. The case is being handled by assistant attorneys General John Ioannou and Geralyn J. Trujillo and Acting Chief of the Antitrust Bureau Richard L. Schwartz,...

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