Strategy in TECH...
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.
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.
Two stories out of Japan caught our attention and, to our thinking, combine to show that Japan’s tech industry is still not yet out of the woods. The first story, by the Japan Times, says that troubled Toshiba’s half-year fiscal results show that their profits have now tripled. The second story, also from the Japan Times, announced that Japan Display will be laying off thousands of employees – almost a third of their workforce.
Gibson Brands announced Tuesday that it has hired Lee Cheng as its new Chief Operating Officer (COO) and executive vice president. This appointment takes effect immediately and follows a recent additional credit downgrade by the Moody’s Investor Service.
In a letter to dealers sent Thursday evening, Kaleidescape CEO Cheena Srinivasan says the company is back in business, but in a leaner, lower overhead way. The news, which the industry rumor mill was buzzing about all day Thursday, is a bit of a surprise considering the company was completely shut down just a couple of weeks ago.
The fat lady hasn’t sung yet, but it’s pretty much all over for Monster LLC and Noel Lee’s lawsuit against Beats Electronics LLC, Andre Young (a/k/a Dr. Dre), Jimmy Iovine, Paul D. Wachter (a Beats director), HTC America Holding, Inc and Does 1-25 (defendants to be named later). LA Superior Court Judge William F. Fahey has dismissed Monster’s lawsuit in its entirety, and has scheduled a trial that is now only on the claims by the defendants against Monster for attorneys fees and other costs.
News comes out of Japan that the new owners of Sharp are in the process of buying back a building the old management sold off when seeking to improve profitability by reducing overhead. Now, new management – made up of former Foxconn executives – are doing an about-face and looking to repurchase the building, in a move that has Japanese media scratching their heads.
We have been inundated with multiple reports that media server kingpin Kaleidescape has ceased operations as of the end of the day yesterday (Friday). Furthermore, all employees both internal and external, have reportedly been let go.
Le Holdings Co. Ltd. (LeEco), a Chinese company with unusual multi-business aspirations, announced this week that they had acquired Vizio, a U.S. manufacturer of affordable televisions, in a deal worth $2 billion. The deal will serve as LeEco’s entry into the U.S. market with its unusual mix of products.
The ink is barely dry on their agreement to be acquired by Britain’s Melrose Industries PLC, and already Nortek Inc. finds themselves the subject of multiple investigations by several major law firms who have publicly notified shareholders this deal may not be a good one for them. It is not clear if these law firms intend to take action yet, but if so, it could be a complicating factor in the transaction.
