14 DAY TRIAL // Something is stirring, as Apple alumni are coming together to start a new company. The new company, called Acquicor Technology, is founded by Gil Amelio, Ellen Hancockand Steve Wozniak.
The company itself is a SPAC, or Special Purpose Acquisition Company, which is also known as a "blank check" company, which is entirely appropriate since in buying of stocks you practically give a blank check to its founders.
"Amelio and team have been criss-crossing the country on a strange mission. They're asking institutional investors to give them $100 million so they can make an acquisition they can't yet identify," Adam Lashinsky reports for Fortune. "According to the bizarre rules under which SPACs are created, the team can't talk to buyout candidates until they've raised their cash. If all goes according to plan, however, Acquicor will complete its offering this week and its shares will trade publicly. Then it's got two years to spend most of the money or be forced to give it back."
This is an interesting company to say the least, taking into account the history of some of its founders. On February 2, 1996, Amelio became Apple CEO, succeeding Michael Spindler. Under Amelio, Apple's stock hit a 12-year low, and in the second quarter of 1997, the company lost $708 million. Then, with the urging of Hancock, Amelio bought Steve Jobs' NeXT for $402 million, bringing Steve Jobs back to Apple. On July 9, 1997, Gil Amelio was ousted as CEO of Apple by the board of directors and Jobs stepped in as the interim CEO. "Within days of the NeXT acquisition, Jobs began lobbying for the demotion of... chief technologist Ellen Hancock, whom he repeatedly referred to as a 'bozo,' say Apple managers," Peter Burrows reported for BusinessWeek on March 17, 1997. Ellen Hancock later became CEO of Exodus Communications, which entered bankruptcy in 2001.