Law Tech News
Solution 6 to Acquire Elite; Palm Plans a Spin-Off
by Monica Bay
SOLUTION 6 Holdings Co., (which just recently purchased CMS/Data Corp.) and Elite Information Group Inc., have announced a merger plan in which Solution 6 will acquire Elite for $11/share, in cash. Elite offers financial and practice management software for law firms.
The offer is conditioned upon, among other factors, Solution 6 acquiring a majority of Elite's shares. The transaction is valued at $95.6 million.
Solution asserts that its goal is to become a leader in the supply of practice management software to time-based professional services, including accounting, legal and consulting services.
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Palm Planning
Much activity at 3Com! Its hot, hot, hot Palm unit has filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to raise $100 million in an IPO, slated for this quarter, reports our sister publication, The Daily Deal.
The filing is the first step toward what analysts predict will be a blockbuster IPO. Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Morgan Stanley Dean Witter are lead managers for Palm Inc.'s offering; Merrill Lynch & Co., and Robertson Stephenscomplete the underwriting team.
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati is serving as issuer's counsel, with Larry Sonsini, Aaron Alter and Katherine Martin the lead lawyers, reports the Deal. Stephen Yu, general counsel at Palm, Inc., heads the in-house operations.
Earlier this year, 3Com announced plans to sell less than 20 percent of the shares in the IPO. The remainder of the shares will be distributed to 3Com shareholders. It will trade under the PALM symbol. Nokia, Motorola Inc., and American Online Inc. have announced plans to purchase up to 4.5 percent of the stock, the Deal reports.
In December, Motorola also announced that it will license the Palm operating system for use in its products.
Meanwhile, 3Com also announced the selection of Carl J. Yankowski as chief executive officer and director of the Palm subsidiary. He is the former president and COO of Sony Electronics Inc.
For more information ENTER no. 279 after Clicking Here.
Stowaway
Speaking of Palm, if your fingers cramp when you try to use the Palm stylus, check out the Stowaway,from Think Outside LLC. It folds out into a full-sized keyboard, allowing users to quickly and comfortably enter text into handheld devices (which plug right into the built-in docking station, no batteries or cables required). The Stowaway is designed to work with both Palm and Handspring Visor devices, says the company, based in Solana Beach, Calif.
Closed, it's about the size of your palm, and weighs 7.9 ounces. It's made of glass-filled polycarbonate and aluminum for durability, notes the company.
For more information circle no. 280.
Windows Open
Microsoft Corp.says three versions of its Windows 2000operating system software have been sent off to the manufacturers and are scheduled to ship on Feb. 17: Windows 2000 Professional, Windows 2000 Server, and Windows 2000 Advanced Server edition.
Other news from Redmond: Allison Walsh is the new Legal Industry Manager. Walsh served as brand manager for LEXIS Publishing before moving back to the Northwest. (She earned her law degree at Gonzaga University.) She will lead Microsoft's strategy within the legal market, as well as form business and technology alliances with independent software vendors and integrators.
Walsh and her boss, Adrienne Hall, director of the Business Solutions Group, gave LTN a terrific tour of Microsoft's facilities last month. We also had an opportunity to visit with Cory Linton, the former occupant of Walsh's post, who now is working to improve Word's capabilities for the legal community.
One interesting statistic: Nearly one-third of all Microsoft positions are vacant, as in 10,000 openings. Microsoft isn't alone. Consulting giant Deloitte & Toucheis offering cars (Porsches, Jeep Cherokees) and cash ($15,000) to employees who refer new hires.
For more information ENTER no. 296 after Clicking Here.
Rumor Milled
Charles Christian, editor of the U.K.-based New Media Lawyer, says Corel Corp.'s Kylee Mackay nixes recent Comdex scuttlebutt that Linux buddies Corel and Red Hat Inc.were considering a marriage: "There is absolutely no truth to the rumor. Corel and Red Hat are in no negotiations of any sort, neither company has approached the other in any way. Pure speculation on the part of the media," Mackay says.
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ASP Aspirations
Casecentral.com Inc., based in San Francisco, has signed on as an executive member of the Application Service Provider Industry Consortium, designed to develop guidelines for, and to promote the newly emerging ASP industry.
For more information ENTER no. 282 after Clicking Here.
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