Rogue Wave Software acquires Zend Technologies

zend rogue wave

Zend Technologies, the company behind PHP, has been acquired by Rogue Wave Software.  This sounds like huge news, except that I have no idea about who Rogue Wave Software are, what they do, and what’s their plan in regards to PHP.  Sure, the announcement suggests that they’ll help to push PHP technology into the enterprise.  But, I guess, that remains to be seen.

Congratulations and kudos to Zend Technologies for all the work they’ve done so far.

Now that Google’s selling Motorola, how much did it overpay in 2011?

Now that Google’s selling Motorola, how much did it overpay in 2011?

Just how much did Google (GOOG) overpay for Motorola Mobility when it agreed to buy the phone maker for $12.5 billion in 2011 Shareholders will have to figure that out after Google announced on Wednesday that it is unloading the money-losing subsidiary on Chinese electronics maker Lenovo Group (0992.HK) for $2.9 billion.

Sure, Motorola had $3 billion of cash on its balance sheet when it was acquired and Google later sold a set-top box division for $2.4 billion. But that still leaves Google CEO Larry Page left to explain why he’s only getting $3 billion for the remaining net investment of $7 billion. “Patents,” he’d likely reply.

Analysts speculated all along that Google made the hasty deal only to get control of Motorola’s vast trove of about 17,000 patents. At the time, Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft (MSFT) appeared to be waging an intellectual property war to beat back the Android challenge. Many of those battles continue and intellectual property attorneys are split over whether the Motorola patents have helped Google much, if at all.

Still, Google said it would retain “the vast majority” of patents from Motorola in the sale to Lenovo.

Oracle’s next acquisition poll results are in

A couple of weeks ago I linked to the poll about Oracle’s next acquisition.  This is a quick update to let you all know, that the results are in.  Go and have a look, and make sure to check the comments – there are some interesting discussions.

Who’s next in the long list of Oracle acquisitions?

ERP Software Advice has an interesting summary of Oracle’s mergers and acquisitions for the last few years.  Here is an excellent graphical representation:

But not only that.  They are trying to figure out who is the next in line.  If you have an opinion on this matter – vote in their poll.  If you don’t – check the article anyway – it’s pretty cool.

As for me, I am not that well familiar with Oracle’s business, but judging by a few comments here and there, one company that they won’t buy anytime soon is EMC.  If I remember correctly, because there is some personal affair going on.  Or maybe that’s just all rumors and my misunderstanding of it all.

Follow-up on Yahoo and Microsoft

The other day I wrote a post about possible Yahoo acquisition by Microsoft. There have been some developments to the story. If you haven’t followed it elsewhere, here is a brief summary for you:

  • Microsoft decided to buy Yahoo (again)
  • Yahoo said “No” (again)
  • Microsoft insists in very aggressive ways

There are a couple of posts at Mashable (one and two) which tell how the story unfolds in more details.

What Microsoft does this time, is what they have always been doing. This time it’s just on a slighter bigger scale. And if you ever had any fantasies about how Microsoft cares about you as a customer or partner, take a closer look at what happens now. If they don’t give a flying fork about major players on the Web, who are creating an ecosystem, what do they care about you as an end user?

My extremism years are long over, but I still get to hear “Boycott Microsoft!” scream in my head once in a while. Whatever the case, I believe in natural balance and the equilibrium of all things. I think that Microsoft has been rocking the technology boat for far too long and that things are slowly turning to where they should be. It will take a few more years to make them more obvious to general public, but the trend is there.

In regard to this particular situation, there is a slight chance of Yahoo getting away from this acquisition through an alliance with Google. It’s not as good as if they could just be, but it’s by far better than if they get acquired by Microsoft.