Palm and HP appear like a happiest of corporate couples right right away, though theirs was the heated wooing: according to Palm’s ultimate matter to shareholders, a total of 16 companies were contacted about the understanding, as well as HP was a winner of the month-long behest fight which concerned critical offers from 5 companies — a behest war which concerned Jon Rubinstein privately notice HP which it had to “significantly as well as right away” enlarge the suggest to sojourn in a game. What’s some-more, HP’s winning bid came in during just 20 cents the share some-more than its first rival. Yeah, it’s juicy — read on for a full blow-by-blow.
Palm famous which it was in difficulty in early February, the couple of weeks prior to it posted the unsatisfactory quarterly formula, as well as upon February 17 the association orderly the cabinet headed by CEO Jon Rubinstein examine the options — everything from chartering webOS to selling the company was upon a table.From February 25 to April 1, Palm’s management and consultants talked to a total of 16 companies about you do a understanding. Five companies together with HP in conclusion got to the indicate of creation offers, though only HP is publicly declared in the filing — a other suitors have been referred to as Companies A, B, C, and D. Palm was most interested in HP as well as Companies A as well as B, while C and D primarily usually longed for to take Palm’s patents. It’s not clear when D forsaken out.Palm’s house of directors motionless that offered a association was a best choice in early March. The house suspicion about offered patents as well as / or chartering webOS, but motionless against it since chartering would intermix a value of Palm’s IP as well as fail to residence long-term problems like scale and resources, as well as management was told to discuss it intensity buyers which they should concentration on an “outright merger.” If you’re gripping lane, that’s a exact opposite of what Jon Rubinstein was observant upon April 22.HP done its initial suggest upon April 13, for for $4.75, or about the billion dollars, as well as requested a 30-day duration of exclusive negotations. Company A followed up upon April 15 with an suggest of $600 million in cash, as well as Company B due the stock-for-stock deal that would take longer than the alternative deals.After reception a offers from A as well as B, Palm told HP which it wouldn’t give it an exclusivity duration unless it softened the suggest, as well as HP declined. At a same time, Palm motionless which neither A Nor B’s offer were of any value to its shareholders, as well as told both companies which they weren’t rival. A as well as B afterwards forsaken out of a game.On April 18 Company C offering in between $6 as well as $7 per share with a due contract to take place inside of 14 days, as well as upon April 19 Palm sent both HP as well as Company C breeze partnership agreements.Palm as well as HP senior management hold meetings upon April 20 as well as 21, resulting in HP upping its offer to $5 per share on April 22. Later that day, Company C forsaken the suggest to $5.50 as well as sent Palm the revised partnership agreement that contained multiform worrisome supplies, together with the longer, riskier contract timeline as well as the $60 million chastisement if a understanding didn’t go through. Palm and Company C intent in “endless negotiations” from a 23rd to a 25th, but never managed to work out a compromise.While which was starting on, upon April 24th Jon Rubinstein as well as his advisors without delay told HP that the offer wasn’t rival as well as which it had to “significantly as well as right away” urge the suggest in order to sojourn in a diversion. HP responded by raising its suggest to $5.70 per share (the winning bid) later which day, as well as Jon Rubinstein told Company C which he had a improved suggest on April 25th.Company C told Palm it wasn’t raising the merger suggest, though offering to buy patents as well as take a nonexclusive license to webOS for $800 million. The board considered which proposal on a same day as well as declined.From that indicate on it was all HP — a dual companies negotiated from April 24 to April 28, when the merger was authorized by Palm’s outward accountants during Goldman Sachs and voiced to a world.Yeah, it’s the funny story, as well as it gets even wilder: Palm says Company C never signed an NDA, so it’s some-more than expected we’ll in the future find out who it was. Your theory is as great as ours — Lenovo? ZTE? Dell? Either approach, it looks like HP pulled this off in the scrape of time.

[Thanks, Herman]