14 DAY TRIAL // The fact that Microsoft is in the process of divorcing from Bruce Jaffe, Corporate Vice President, Corporate Development, and the key playmaker when it comes down to the company's acquisitions, has not influenced in the least its appetite for new purchases. At the beginning of January 2008, the Redmond company has made a $1.2 billion bid for Fast Search & Transfer, a provider of enterprise search solutions, a couple of days ago, and is reported to already be wooing its next target. Reports of a potential Microsoft bid to acquire Logitech has made the shares of the Swiss-based computer peripherals manufacturer explode.
Of course that the real issue is if Microsoft indeed intends to tale Logitech at the altar and if the peripherals manufacturer would say "I do". Until official confirmation is provided by either party, it is all speculation. But Logitech is in fact benefiting heavily from the rumor mill, as its share gained no less than 12%, fueled by the speculations. Still, as of now, neither Microsoft nor Logitech have confirmed or denied the existence of the takeover bid.
"I am a co-founder of Logitech. Would you be willing to sell your child? I have no reason to sell. But I will not be the one to decide. I own only some 6 percent so I will neither enable nor prevent a sale of Logitech", revealed Daniel Borel, Logitech board member, to Reuters.
Borel qualifies the supposed takeover bid as nothing more than speculations and declined to offer additional comments. But, he did point that a potential partnership with the Redmond company would be possible. "Microsoft is above all a software company -- it is a very, very large company and only in a couple of 'small' fields we compete with each other", Borel added.
Microsoft acquiring a hardware company would not be a viable scenario under normal conditions, but Logitech, as a manufacturer of computer peripherals would perfectly complement the Redmond company's own hardware division, which is also focused on the same market segment. But there is always the matter of the price tag, and Logitech's value is estimated at $6.3 billion, with Microsoft's big proposal apparently as high as $8 billion.