Also: Why HP should have listened to its CFO; is Foursquare overvalued?
HP should have listened to its CFO [FORTUNE]
As Fortune wrote in its May cover story How Hewlett-Packard lost its way:
“…with no warning to Apotheker, Lesjak made an impassioned case against the acquisition before the board. “I can’t support it,” she told the directors, according to a person who was present. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. I don’t think we’re ready. I think it’s too expensive. I’m putting a line down. This is not in the best interests
of the company.” Directors were shaken. Lesjak was considered a voice of sobriety, and here she was on the verge of insubordination, directly resisting a key element of her boss’ strategy.”
No Apple TV until November 2013, says analyst Gene Munster [BUSINESS INSIDER]
Munster’s revised thinking on the Apple TV release was buried in a note on his product roadmap for Apple in 2013. Here’s how he sees Apple’s 2013 playing out:
- March 2013: iPad Mini with Retina display, update the little Apple TV box, allowing to do accept apps from developers, and some sort of iTunes radio product.
- June 2013: WWDC brings us previews of iOS 7, and OSX, as well as MacBook Airs with Retina displays. Look for Jony Ive’s influence over iOS to start showing up here.
Zynga appoints Tim LeTourneau as Chief Creative Officer [ALLTHINGSD]
Previously, LeTourneau was Zynga’s VP of games in charge of FarmVille 2, the company’s most successful game launch over the past few months. As part of his new role, he’ll be stepping away from the day-to-day job operations of FarmVille 2 to spend more time on game design across the board. LeTourneau will report to Steve Chiang, president of games, and Maureen Fan will become FarmVille 2’s new general manager.
Disruptions: A $1 billion start-up might not be so fun [THE NEW YORK TIMES]
They have a lot to worry about. First, when you’re the most expensive product on the shelf, very few companies can afford to buy you. Apple,Google and maybe Microsoft are on a short list of corporations that could finance an acquisition of this size without reaching for lint in their pockets afterward.
Given that Apple rarely makes acquisitions, that leaves Google, Microsoft and possibly Facebook.
Checking in on Foursquare’s valuation [THE WALL STREET JOURNAL]
Foursquare is expected to bring in about $2 million in revenue this year, people familiar with the matter said, by selling targeted coupons. That is well behind the pace set by Facebook, which generated $153 million in revenue selling ads in its fourth year, and Twitter, which sold $45 million in ads at the same point in its history, according to research firm eMarketer.
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