Founded in 2009 by Scott Sangster and incubated in healthtech accelerator Rock Health’s inaugural batch, HealthInReach has been on a mission to combat the high cost of healthcare and put consumers back in control of their healthcare by creating a transparent online marketplace for comparing the quality and price of health providers and procedures. The startup has built a consumer-focused (or… → Read More
Yesterday, we reported about Sony, Hitachi and Toshiba planning to establish a joint venture for small and mid-size LCD panels in Japan. And today, the three companies, plus major shareholder Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, made the plan official.
As reported, the semi-public organization will control 70% of the venture (to be set up by the end of the year), with the other partners… → Read More
We reported last week that two of Japan’s top cell phone makers, Fujitsu and Toshiba, were in talks to merge their cell phone businesses. And today, we have the rumor confirmed. Under the agreement, Toshiba will spin off its handset unit and Fujitsu is expected to take the majority stake in the joint venture (between a whopping 70 and 80%, according to reports in Japanese media). → Read More
Big news from the Japanese cell phone industry today: Two of Japan’s top handset makers, namely Fujitsu and Toshiba, are in talks to merge their cell phone operations within this year. According to the Nikkei (“Japan’s Wall Street Journal” and usually a reliable source), negotiations already reached the “final stage”.
The joint venture, if it happens, will create Japan’s second largest cell phone… → Read More
The deal has been in the making for months now, but yesterday Panasonic finally announced a tender offer for Sanyo Electric, paving the way to convert Sanyo into a wholly owned subsidiary as early as the middle of next month. → Read More
The first rumors started spreading about two weeks ago, and it was officially announced yesterday: Major Japanese cell phone makers Hitachi, NEC and Casio are merging their mobile phone operations to become Japan’s No. 2 maker (following Sharp). The name of the new venture will be “NEC Casio Mobile Communications”. → Read More
As the only satellite radio fan here at CrunchGear, I feel it’s my duty to review the year that was and point out some of the events that made the medium such a joy. This isn’t a typical “Top 10 Movies” snoozefest, but rather an illustration of what makes satellite radio inherently superior to regular, terrestrial radio (provided you don’t mind a nominal monthly fee). Please… → Read More
As part of the $39 million dollar merger agreement between Virgin Mobile USA and Helio back in June, Helio is contractually obligated to cut down their costs by around 70 percent. According to Virgin Mobile USA’s CEO, Dan Schulman, such reductions are already well underway. During last night’s VMUSA Q2 2008 earnings conference call, he announced that over two-thirds of the staff at… → Read More
The Wall Street Journal is reporting that the XM-Sirius merger has been given the tentative OK by the FCC. Deborah Taylor Tate, the final FCC commissioner to cast a vote, is expected to vote in favor of the merger, thus clearing the way for the merger. There are, of course, a few restrictions to be placed on the newly combined company. • Price freeze. They have agreed not to raise prices for… → Read More
Today was a big day vis-à-vis the XM-Sirius merger, as Johnathan Adelstein, the FCC commissioner who wanted to place all those restrictions on the merger in exchange for his support, has officially withdrawn his proposal, voting against the merger in the process. That leaves us all tied up for votes for and against the merger with one single, solitary vote pending. Deborah Taylor Tate (right), a… → Read More
Believe it or not, the XM-Sirius merger could be finalized “any day now.” Cowen & Company, a high-profile investment bank, says the merger “is finally at hand and should occur by the end of this month.” Finally, right? In other possibly corroborating news, XM staffers have been asked to cancel any vacation plans for the week of July 21 (Opie said as much last week), when The Final Vote… → Read More
Oh, how I shall miss Helio. In light of this morning’s long expected announcement that Virgin Mobile had purchased Helio, a Q&A has gone up to answer some of the more pressing questions. It’s all pretty straightforward: there will be no service interruption, new members are welcome, contracts are still valid, and they expect the Helio brand will eventually be dissolved. → Read More
Let’s be honest. We’ve seen this coming for more than a month now and the Financial Times is reporting that VM and Helio could announce sometime this week that the two MVNOs will merge leaving SK Telecom with a 20 percent stake. There have been rumors floating around that Helio stores will shut their doors in an effort to cut costs, which we haven’t been able to confirm nor deny, but we’re… → Read More
It looks like Kevin Martin of the FCC is now supporting the XM-Sirius merger. I think my brain just exploded a little bit. Yes, 16 months after initially proposing the merger (and three months after the Justice Department gave the green light), the FCC’s chairman has given it a thumbs-up. Said the chairman: I am recommending that, with the voluntary commitments they’ve offered, on… → Read More
Flickr’d “But if the FCC will no longer approve mergers without Congressional blessing, why does it even need to exist?” So asks the Wall Street Journal, and so ask the good boys and girls—shareholders—who are tired of this charade. The Wall Street Journal wondered aloud yesterday just why it has taken 450 days since the merger was first proposed for it to given the… → Read More
We’re all waiting on this guy The FCC “will hopefully be able to do something on it soon.” “It” is the proposed XM-Sirius merger, while “soon” means whatever you want it to mean. Yup, the FCC chair, Kevin Martin, said today that the deal has taken as long as it has because of all the different regulatory matters involved. Or, maybe, because the likes of… → Read More
Alltel, the little carrier that could, is in talks with Verizon to merge this year. Verizon is expected to pay eight times Alltel’s EBITDA (“Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization”). How much that is we do not know but it’s definitely more than fifty dollars. UPDATE – The deal could be about $27 billion, according to Reuters. → Read More
There isn’t a whole lot to this one other than a quote from an SK Telecom official regarding the Helio and Virgin Mobile merger rumors. But it leads one to believe that the rumors are true. Make the decision for yourself, though. An SK Telecom official said nothing has been decided yet, but the two companies are “seeking various ways that would be mutually beneficial.” “What is certain is… → Read More
Wedbush Morgan, an analyst firm that likes to analyze and comment on things, says that Take-Two is making a mistake in spurning EA’s advances. $26 per share is a good deal, they say, and the company isn’t going to be any more valuable after the release of GTA IV, which they assume was the reason behind Take-Two’s unwillingness to sell. EA is getting serious now and trying the… → Read More
[photopress:xmsir0325.jpg,full,right] The Justice Department gave its blessing to the XM-Sirius merger yesterday. Now we wait for the FCC to weigh in, most likely siding with Justice in giving the merger the OK. Maybe they’ll throw up a few last minute hurdles—please demonstrate how this merger helps the consumer and not just your bottom line, for example—but most analysts… → Read More
The Justice Department has approved the $5 billion merger between Sirius and XM. No news on when the merger will officially happen, but you might want to start your petitions to keep your favorite channels intact right about now. CG’s XM/Sirius coverage → Read More
[photopress:arlenxm.jpg,full,center] A decision, one way or the other, on the proposed XM-Sirus merger should be reached by the end of the month. So says Sen. Arlen Spector, the ranking [Republican] member on the Senate Judiciary Committee. (Pat Leahy is the chairman of the committee, it should be noted.) He made an appearance on the Howard Stern Show earlier today and tried to explain why no… → Read More
[photopress:melk.jpg,full,center] It’s been more than a year since the proposed XM-Sirius merger was announced and we’re no closer now to a combined company than we were then. But there’s hope… maybe! Actually, XM and Sirius just extended the deadline by two months for the deal to go through (or not). Now the satellite radio companies have given the Feds till May 1 for the… → Read More
[photopress:wowcc.jpg,full,center] Wow ClearChannel has been working behind the scenes in a rather unsavory way to prevent the XM-Sirius merger from happening. I know ClearChannel is “evil” because it killed local radio years ago (I ask, who still listens to local radio, and why?), but its reliance on the government to protect its business is silly. Since when was it the… → Read More
[photopress:xmsiren.gif,full,right] Something’s afoot regarding the XM-Sirius merger tonight. Drudge has a sly little note on the left-hand column that reads: “Approved or Denied? Drama Builds Around Sirius-XM Merger… Developing…” The proposed merger was announced nearly one year ago on February 17, 2007 and has developed into one of the most annoying stories… → Read More
What happened to the XM-Sirius merger? Announced last February, the merger appears to have hit a snag. We sat through all of December with little hints here and there—sources say an announcement will be made later today, sources say the FCC is just crossing T’s and dotting I’s—but now we’re left wondering what’s going on. Some attribute the delay to the… → Read More
If you’ve been thinking about making the satellite radio plunge (and have your heart set on Sirius), today’s the day to whip out your credit card. Today (and today only, according to an e-mail I received a little while ago) you can grab a Stiletto 10 for $50, a full $100 off the regular price, with the purchase of a subscription. The portable Stiletto 10 doesn’t have some of the… → Read More
I wish. Actually, these two big boys merged to create the decidedly more predictable and tame-sounding “Activision Blizzard,” which sounds a lot like a spell you might cast in D&D. The deal, worth a reported $18.9 billion dollars, with Vivendi ending up with a 52 percent stake. This seems strange considering its franchise contributions were the colossally unhip Crash Bandicoot and… → Read More
The XM-Sirius merger, yet another story that refuses to go away. Whoops—it might go away today, actually. A recent Bear Sterns report suggests that the Department of Justice may give the merger its blessing as early as today. Once the DoJ gives the go-ahead, it’s largely expected that the FCC will do the same. So break out the popcorn and keep your eyes and ears open for any merger… → Read More
Yes, the painfully original XM-Sirius “logo” strikes again Judging by a number posts from earlier in the year, I can tell that a few of you are fans of, or at least followers of, of satellite radio. It may interest you to know that today is the day when shareholders of both XM and Sirius vote the proposed merger up or down. It’s expected that both groups will give the merger the… → Read More
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