Dell Inc. Sees Two More Bids

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Two New York investment groups have submitted bids for Dell Inc. The offers from Blackstone Group and Carl Icahn could be higher than the current bid for the company.

Dell’s board of directors disclosed the bids and said it will study both proposals and negotiate with both potential buyers. Blackstone Group, a New York-based private equity firm, submitted a bid of $14.25 a share while Icahn Enterprises, headed by high-profile investor Carl Icahn, submitted a bid for $15 a share.

Company founder and CEO Michael Dell in partnership with Silver Lake Partners filed a bid Dell approved conditionally on February 5. That bid was for $13.65 a share and was valued at $24.4 billion.

Since both deals could be superior to the original buyout proposal, the special committee made up of Dell’s independent board members said it will negotiate with both parties. Michael Dell has indicating he is willing to work with third-parties on acquisition proposals.

The new bids came at the end of the 45-day “go-shop” period that expired Saturday morning. The competing bids will please some shareholders, some of whom said they thought Dell’s original undervalued the computer maker.

Michael Dell sought to take the company private in order to speed its transformation into a more broadly based IT company that is less dependent on sales of PCs. Dell Inc. employs more than 100,000 people worldwide.

Source: Statesman.com

SoftBank Loads Up On GungHo

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SoftBank has gotten approval from its board of directors to acquire a major stake in GungHo Entertainment. The Japanese telecoms company will increase its stake from 33.6 percent to 58.5 percent, making GungHo a subsidiary of SoftBank.

73,400 shares will be purchased from Asian Groove for roughly $265 million. The acquisition is part of SoftBank’s ambition to be the number one mobile internet company in Japan and have annual annual operating income of $10 billion by March 21, 2017.

GungHo Entertainment’s mobile title Puzzle & Dragons makes around $2 million a day at its peak.

Square Enix CEO Yoichi Wada Stepping Down

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Yoichi Wada is stepping down from his duties as CEO and president of Square Enix. This comes after the company revised its fiscal estimates for the fiscal year down roughly $175 million.

Wada had held the position of CEO since Square Co. and the Enix Corporation merged in 2003. It is expected that Wada will be replaced by current representative director Yosuke Matsuda, with the decision finalized at a general meeting of shareholders in June 2013.

Microsoft Hires U.S. Sales And Marketing Head

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Judson Althoff has been named Microsoft’s president of North America sales and marketing and corporate VP, a job he will start March 29. He’s a veteran of 14 years at Oracle, where he carry the title of senior VP of worldwide alliances and channels and embedded sales.

“Judson has a track record of successfully developing, growing and leading global sales organizations with a culture of execution excellence,” said Microsoft COO Kevin Turner. “Judson’s proven leadership will enable us to continue to excel in delivering the best devices and services experience to our customers including businesses and consumers.”

Payday Movie Video Denounced By Starbreeze

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A video featuring the Overkill Software studio and the Payday game franchise has made the rounds on the Internet, sparking controversy over what some say is a sexist tone. The video, featuring Top Model Sweden contestants Angner Sophie and Nina Strauss, has been denounced and put in context by Bo Andersson, CEO of Starbreeze which acquired Overkill last year.

“The YouTube piece that was spread today was an external pitch made to us (amongst many) almost nine months ago,” said Andersson. “It was related to the potential Payday movie and not game. We did not design it or distribute it. Part was shot in our office but then cut externally. We felt it did not portray our values as a company in any way after seeing the final cut. Therefore it was rejected some 9 months ago. Unfortunately it ended up on the internet as part of someone’s CV (outside of our company).””We have never as a company depicted women this way nor shall we in the future,” he added.

 

Source: GamesIndustry International

Zynga Hires VP Of Finance As CIO Departs

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Atul Bagga has been hired by Zynga to be VP of finance. The Lazard Capital Markets veteran, who covered video games and online companies, will report to CFO Mark Vranesh.

It was also announced that CIO Debra Chrapaty has left Zynga to become the CEO of the cloud storage company Nirvanix. The former corporate VP at Microsoft will be replaced by current Zynga employee Dorion Carroll.

“We thank Debra for her leadership and contributions to Zynga over the past years and wish her luck in her future endeavors,” said Zynga COO David Ko. “As one of our Zynga Fellows, Dorion has provided direction, leadership and management across numerous technology and products teams at Zynga over the past three years as well as being one of our most senior technology leaders.”

Source: AllThingsD

Resident Evil 6 x Left 4 Dead 2 – Character Crossover

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The PC version of Resident Evil 6 has launched and it features Left 4 Dead 2‘s Survivors and Special Infected Zombies. Coach, Nick, Ellis and Rochelle will be playable characters in the PC exclusive Mercenaries No Mercy mode, with The Witch and Mini Tank appearing as additional enemies – best news is all this content is free to anyone who buys the PC version of the game!

Google Play: Retribution

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Want to rule like a dictator with an iron fist? This trailer suggests getting Google Play, which will give you access to all the materials you need to become a megalomaniac, even if it’s just in your head.

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https://youtube.com/watch?v=2PXVjcP-9aE

Use The Force And Decide Who Would Win

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This Is Madness is StarWars.com’s official tournament to decide the galaxy’s most popular Star Wars character. Cast your votes and come back every day for new matchups and results. Be sure to visit on Tuesday, April 9 to see who wins! At the time of filing this story, Jabba the Hut, Han Solo and Darth Vader have already trounced their respective matchups Salacious Crumb, Lando Calrissian and General Grevious. Don’t forget to both for both the light side and the dark side!