Vision - November/December 2007 - (Page 38) b y S h a w n G . D u b r ava c , c F a Mergers and acquisitions and going private have been all the rage among companies in the consumer technology arena. Rarely a day goes by without rumors of an imminent deal hitting above the fold. Over the last two years, mergers and acquisitions and privatization deals in the consumer technology space have totaled in the hundreds of billions of dollars. The table on the following page highlights just a few of the noteworthy transactions over the last 24 months. There are several reasons behind this recent trend. First and foremost, the industry is maturing and like other industries that have hit this junction there is beginning to be mass consolidation. Examples of how this trend played out in other industries can be seen in the U.S. auto industry. At the peak there were more than 250 active firms. By 1966 there were only 10 firms remaining. The consumer technology industry may follow a similar path. Keeping it Under Wraps A second underpinning is that the cost of financing relative to risk has come down substantially in recent years—setting up the opportune scenario for taking a company private. Cheap financing allowed acquiring firms to obtain needed technology as opposed to building the technology in-house which is not only expensive, but time intensive. While going private has traditionally been reserved for companies with high cash flows and long production cycles, privatization brings with it many benefits that have become increasingly important in the consumer technology space. Today companies in the consumer electronics arena are going private for entirely different reasons than the private deals we saw throughout the early 1980s. 38 November/December 2007 www.ce.org http://www.ce.org
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Vision - November/December 2007 Vision - November/December 2007 Contents Shapiro's Spectrum In This Issue The Economist C4 Visionary Tech Speak Going Global Eye on Business Tech Policy Special Supplement: CES Unveiled 2008 CES Technologies to Watch Eastern Europe Embraces CE M&A Fest Displaying the Future CEA Newsline Market Insider Just the Stats Vision - November/December 2007 Vision - November/December 2007 - Vision - November/December 2007 (Page Cover1) Vision - November/December 2007 - Vision - November/December 2007 (Page Cover2) Vision - November/December 2007 - Contents (Page 1) Vision - November/December 2007 - Shapiro's Spectrum (Page 2) Vision - November/December 2007 - Shapiro's Spectrum (Page 3) Vision - November/December 2007 - In This Issue (Page 4) Vision - November/December 2007 - In This Issue (Page 5) Vision - November/December 2007 - The Economist (Page 6) Vision - November/December 2007 - The Economist (Page 7) Vision - November/December 2007 - C4 (Page 8) Vision - November/December 2007 - C4 (Page 9) Vision - November/December 2007 - Visionary (Page 10) Vision - November/December 2007 - Visionary (Page 11) Vision - November/December 2007 - Visionary (Page 12) Vision - November/December 2007 - Visionary (Page 13) Vision - November/December 2007 - Tech Speak (Page 14) Vision - November/December 2007 - Tech Speak (Page 15) Vision - November/December 2007 - Going Global (Page 16) Vision - November/December 2007 - Eye on Business (Page 17) Vision - November/December 2007 - Tech Policy (Page 18) Vision - November/December 2007 - Special Supplement: CES Unveiled (Page S1) Vision - November/December 2007 - Special Supplement: CES Unveiled (Page S2) Vision - November/December 2007 - Special Supplement: CES Unveiled (Page S3) Vision - November/December 2007 - Special Supplement: CES Unveiled (Page S4) Vision - November/December 2007 - Special Supplement: CES Unveiled (Page S5) Vision - November/December 2007 - Special Supplement: CES Unveiled (Page S6) Vision - November/December 2007 - Special Supplement: CES Unveiled (Page S7) Vision - November/December 2007 - Special Supplement: CES Unveiled (Page S8) Vision - November/December 2007 - Special Supplement: CES Unveiled (Page S9) Vision - November/December 2007 - Special Supplement: CES Unveiled (Page S10) Vision - November/December 2007 - Special Supplement: CES Unveiled (Page 29) Vision - November/December 2007 - 2008 CES Technologies to Watch (Page 30) Vision - November/December 2007 - 2008 CES Technologies to Watch (Page 31) Vision - November/December 2007 - 2008 CES Technologies to Watch (Page 32) Vision - November/December 2007 - 2008 CES Technologies to Watch (Page 33) Vision - November/December 2007 - Eastern Europe Embraces CE (Page 34) Vision - November/December 2007 - Eastern Europe Embraces CE (Page 35) Vision - November/December 2007 - Eastern Europe Embraces CE (Page 36) Vision - November/December 2007 - Eastern Europe Embraces CE (Page 37) Vision - November/December 2007 - M&A Fest (Page 38) Vision - November/December 2007 - M&A Fest (Page 39) Vision - November/December 2007 - Displaying the Future (Page 40) Vision - November/December 2007 - Displaying the Future (Page 41) Vision - November/December 2007 - Displaying the Future (Page 42) Vision - November/December 2007 - Displaying the Future (Page 43) Vision - November/December 2007 - Displaying the Future (Page 44) Vision - November/December 2007 - Displaying the Future (Page 45) Vision - November/December 2007 - CEA Newsline (Page 46) Vision - November/December 2007 - CEA Newsline (Page 47) Vision - November/December 2007 - CEA Newsline (Page 48) Vision - November/December 2007 - CEA Newsline (Page 49) Vision - November/December 2007 - CEA Newsline (Page 50) Vision - November/December 2007 - Market Insider (Page 51) Vision - November/December 2007 - Just the Stats (Page 52) Vision - November/December 2007 - Just the Stats (Page Cover3) Vision - November/December 2007 - Just the Stats (Page Cover4)
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