CBS has agreed to pay US$1.8 billion in cash for online media company CNET Networks in a deal that has the backing of both companies' boards.
The acquisition will increase the total of unique monthly visitors to CBS Web sites to around 200 million worldwide, CBS said. CNET online brands include CNET, GameSpot, TV.com, BNET, CHOW, ZDNet and TechRepublic.
CNET was the target of a hostile bid from investment fund Jana Partners in January. The investment fund, CNET's largest shareholder, sought to nominate two members to the company's board.
The CBS statement announcing the deal described CNET as profitable, but the company had a net loss of US$6.1 million on revenue of $91.4 million in the first quarter. That was less than the US$9.1 million the company lost in the year-earlier quarter, but the company's operating loss widened from $7.7 million in the first quarter of 2007 to $18 million this year, including restructuring charges of $5.1 million.
For the full year 2007, CNET's net income totaled US$176.8 million -- including a $184.2 million income tax benefit.
CBS expects to close the deal in the third quarter. Its offer price of US$11.50 per CNET share represents a premium of 45 percent over Wednesday night's closing price of $7.95. CNET shares were trading at $11.33 a half hour before markets opened Thursday morning.
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Computerworld Live Podcast #97: The Future of Enterprise Networking 25/07/2008 09:45:36
This week CW Live chats with Mark Thompson, global sales and marketing manager for HP ProCurve, on the future of the enterprise networking. Mark discusses the trends we can expect to see in the near future and how the right infrastructure can ensure your enterprise network is secure. - +
Computerworld Live Podcast #96: Security at the Edge 11/06/2008 09:22:22
CW Live speaks with Amol Mitra, HP ProCurve Director of Marketing for Asia Pacific and Japan. Today's topic: how enterprises are starting to shift away from simply controlling security via server logins, firewalls and moving to more adaptive security frameworks. - +
Data Management Edition #10: Multi-Petascale Systems 02/05/2008 09:12:33
This week we look at sustainability and the development of multicore technologies to build multi-petascale systems. - +
IT Security Edition #11: How to poison the Storm botnet 01/05/2008 08:51:55
This week CW Live presents a case study on how to poison the notorious Storm botnet . Plus we take a look at Cisco's plans for Ironport. - +
IT Security Edition #10: Cyber-battles fought and won 24/04/2008 11:09:47
Vendors bow to end user pressure to improve product security, and we take a look at the latest concepts shaping the cyber-battlefield of the future.
Virtual magic: HR specialist throws out 40 servers, adds 8TB SAN and saves $100,000 for disaster recovery 2008-12-01 15:28:00+11
Sybiz adds up for SMEs in downturn 2008-12-01 14:27:00+11
EXCOM scores back-to-back award trifecta 2008-12-01 10:46:00+11
Citect extends SCADA networks with mobility solutions 2008-12-01 09:48:00+11
Citect extends SCADA networks with mobility solutions 2008-12-01 09:48:00+11
Data grids and service-oriented architecture
When choosing an SOA strategy, corporations must ensure data availability, reliability, performance and scalability. A data grid infrastructure, built with clustered caching provides a framework for improved data access that can create a competitive edge and sustain customer loyalty. Read on to discover how this can be created within your organisation.
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