Cisco
Sun doesn’t shine
Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers indicated the company isn’t likely to bid for Sun Microsystems even as it looks to spend a $34 billion cash hoard. “Cisco moves very rapidly on acquisitions,” Chambers said Wednesday at a briefing in Seoul, South Korea, when asked about Sun. “If we were going to be in an area, we would probably have already moved.” Cisco has acquired about 130 businesses in its 25-year history, including last week’s $105 million purchase of Tidal Software, to add products such as cable set-top boxes. Cisco plans to be “aggressive during this market downturn,” Chambers said.
— Bloomberg News
Xilinx
200 jobs cut
Xilinx is cutting up to 200 jobs, or about 6 percent of its work force, to save money. The San Jose chip maker said Wednesday the cuts will mean a pretax charge of about $11 million to $13 million in the quarter ending in June. The company says it will also reduce executive salaries, and it plans other short-term cost-cutting measures, including a broad salary freeze for remaining workers. Xilinx expects to save about $4 million to $5 million per quarter as a result, beginning with the fiscal first quarter that ends in June. Over the longer term, the company says it plans more cost-saving measures that will lead to more restructuring charges.
— Associated Press
EBay
Eyes S. Korea site
EBay said Wednesday it plans to pay as much as $1.2 billion to purchase a majority stake in South Korea’s top online marketplace. San Jose-based eBay and Gmarket said that eBay will make a cash tender offer of $24 a share to purchase all outstanding common shares and American Depository shares in Gmarket. If successful, eBay said it would take a stake of at least 67 percent in Gmarket. The release said the agreement calls for eBay to combine Gmarket with eBay’s existing online marketplace in South Korea, Internet Auction Company. EBay said in September it received conditional approval from South Korean regulators for its potential purchase of a stake in Gmarket. The venture is the latest for eBay into the online auction market outside the United States.
— Associated Press
