Sony Corps’ struggling film division, which hasn’t seen a major hit movie in a long while, has finally forced the company to take a writedown against third quarter earnings of a substantial $1 billion. The difficult decision was necessary to adjust or right-size the value of their operations and will mostly be booked against goodwill – to reset the value of the various film-related divisions.
Financial
Sprint Throws a Life Preserver to Drowning Tidal
Cash Infusion Buys Time for Struggling Service
Tidal, the musician-owned music streaming service put together by rapper Jay Z, announced this week that it has sold a third of the company to telecom giant Sprint. Although the original announcement did not disclose the price, Billboard, the music industry trade journal, said that Sprint invested $200 million for a 33% stake in the company.
See more on the dynamic situation surrounding Tidal… [Read more…] about Sprint Throws a Life Preserver to Drowning Tidal
Samsung Chairman Named as Suspect by Prosecutors in Political Probe
After a tough 2016, Samsung was likely looking for a little relief in 2017. They’ll have to keep looking because, as the old saying goes, “When it rains, it pours.” Reuters is reporting that prosecutors in South Korea have summoned Samsung Group leader Jay Y. Lee for questioning in a probe into an influence peddling scheme that may topple the president of the country and offer criminal indictments for some of the players.
Lee has been named as a suspect in the matter.
See more on this widening scandal and the risk to Samsung… [Read more…] about Samsung Chairman Named as Suspect by Prosecutors in Political Probe
Technology Integrator Prints Its Last Magazine
Calling 2016 “a year of transition,” NAPCO Media announced yesterday that it has printed its last Technology Integrator (TI) magazine – deciding to withdraw from print media and reinvent itself into an online-only property. The move has been rumored for weeks, and in an online post yesterday attributed to the “TI Staff”, the company made the news official.
See more on what’s going to happen with Technology Integrator… [Read more…] about Technology Integrator Prints Its Last Magazine
Not Again! Another Big, Bad Surprise from Toshiba
Loses Almost a Third of Its Total Market Value in 2 Days
Toshiba Corps. stock price plunged 30% this week as the company announced it is facing the prospect of booking a potentially multi-billion dollar writedown related to an acquisition made by its U.S. unit, Westinghouse Electric. The acquisition was related to the construction of two nuclear power plant projects being built in the U.S. as the company made a big bet on a nuclear renaissance in the U.S. power structure – a bet that is not paying off.
Toshiba President apologizes for a potentially multi-billion dollar writedown… [Read more…] about Not Again! Another Big, Bad Surprise from Toshiba
iRule & OnControls Acquired by Kramer Electronics
iRule’s CEO Ben-Gal Talks to Strata-gee About Acquisition
Kramer Electronics, a maker of hardware-centric control solutions for the commercial audio/visual market, has acquired Detroit, MI-based iRule, a fast rising provider of software-based home control and automation solutions – including their OnControls residential line – in a private transaction that closed last Friday, December 23rd. The terms of the deal, including valuation, were not disclosed, but iRule co-founder and CEO Itai Ben-Gal told us this deal was the logical conclusion to a now multi-year relationship between the companies.
See more on this iRule acquisition by Kramer… [Read more…] about iRule & OnControls Acquired by Kramer Electronics
Is Sony Junk? Not Anymore, Says Moody’s
Moody’s Japan announced this week that it has raised its rating on Sony’s credit to Baa3, one step up from “junk.” This is the first time that Sony’s credit has been determined to be “investment grade” in years and reflects the company’s improved financial performance.
But Moody’s had even more good news for Sony. Read on… [Read more…] about Is Sony Junk? Not Anymore, Says Moody’s
Core Brands Moved Under Control of Nortek’s SCS Group
In a reorganization at Nortek, Core Brands, previously a freestanding, underperforming segment of the company, has been moved under the control of Nortek’s Security and Control Solutions Group, it was announced internally this week. With this change, Core Brands President Joe Roberts will now report to SCS Group’s President Michael O’Neal.
See more on this change with Core Brands inside of Nortek… [Read more…] about Core Brands Moved Under Control of Nortek’s SCS Group
SnapAV Continues Buying Spree, Acquires Autonomic
‘If You Can Solve a Problem, You Can Sell Some Stuff’
SnapAV announced Wednesday that it has acquired Autonomic, a leading music server solutions provider. This is SnapAV’s latest in a string of acquisitions, as the company continues to seek solutions that will fulfill the needs of their extensive national network of custom integrators.
See what SnapAV’s President told us about this deal… [Read more…] about SnapAV Continues Buying Spree, Acquires Autonomic
GoPro Cuts 15% Of Workforce; Closes Division
Just a couple of weeks after we reported on GoPro’s recall of thousands of defective Karma drones and other business problems, now comes word that the company is in the process of cutting more than 200 jobs, or about 15% of its total workforce, amid a sales decline. The company has also decided to shut down its Entertainment division and rededicate itself to its core wearable camera business.
