Palm Gets Cash Infusion, Shakes Up Board
By Ed Oswald, BetaNews
June 4, 2007, 2:00 PM
Palm said Monday that it had received $325 million in funding from Bono's Elevation Partners, and would shuffle its board -- including the addition of a former iPod exec from Apple -- to make itself more competitive.
Shareholders will receive $9 per Palm share they own as part of the restructuring. In turn, two board members will resign and be replaced by the co-founders of the private equity firm making the strategic investment in the portable electronics maker.
Palm president and CEO Ed Colligan said Rubenstein will lead the company's product development, while bringing Anderson and McNamee on board would add new partners and relationships, as well as ensure a source of future investment capital.
"As a result of this transaction, we will strengthen the Palm leadership team and create a more effective capital structure, which puts us in a great position to attract new talent, significantly strengthen our execution capabilities, and deliver long-term shareholder value," he added.
Elevation will own approximately 25 percent of the company following the closing of the transaction. The move will likely also put to rest rumors of sale, which had begun to circulate in recent months.
Not everyone is buying into the company's positive spin on the deal, however. "This move while generate a lot of attention, isn't likely to save the company, despite what the new board does," technology pundit Om Malik wrote for GigaOm.
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