Tuesday, October 05, 2010

The Baby Bills Are Back | Platformonomics

Check the link below for some intriguing scenario analysis from (Microsoft alum and current EMC/Mozy exec) Charles Fitzgerald. 

First it was Forbes, and now Goldman Sachs is raising the idea of splitting up Microsoft.  When the Department of Justice proposed splitting Microsoft asunder, the company resisted it tooth-and-nail.  Ten years later, it isn’t a crazy idea and could be done on Microsoft’s terms.  It might just be the best way to unlock value in the company (Goldman points out the company has a –8% annual return on a dividends-reinvested basis since 2002).  So why not divide it (and the accompanying mountain of cash) up into multiple companies and distribute equity in each to the shareholders (of whom I am still one).  Faster growth businesses will merit higher multiples, cash cows can focus on distributing cash and comps with other companies will be easier.

The Baby Bills Are Back | Platformonomics

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