The man who would buy Apple: but Sun's Chief, Scott McNealy, probably won't be caught overpaying
Article Abstract:
Sun Microsystems CEO Scott McNealy has gained a reputation for his frugality, a fact which is evident in his recent bid to acquire ailing Apple Computer. McNealy reportedly offered the equivalent of $23 a share for Apple stock valued at $50 a share as recently as June 1995. Even in light of Apple's recent losses Sun's bid, variously reported at $23 and $33, is considered low. McNealy will not confirm reports that he is in discussions with Apple. McNealy's management style, personal attributes and views give clues to his possible interest in acquiring Apple at the lowest price. McNealy built Sun by aggressively pursuing market share and attempting to introduce a completely new open computing paradigm. Sun was ultimately forced to abandon its renegade style and adopt Unix, but McNealy believes the Internet represents another opportunity for the company. Apple fits into McNealy's strategy due to the company's considerable market share and strong position in Internet servers.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1996
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High noon for Sun: can CEO McNealy rebuild its momentum in workstations?
Article Abstract:
Sun Microsystems, the leader in workstation networks, is plagued by manufacturing and financial troubles that have been manifested by the resignation of some of its top officials, a temporary shutdown of operations, delayed product shipments, and a deep dip in fourth qtr profits. In efforts to control the situation and regain profitability, Sun's CEO Scott McNealy, who engineered the company's aggressive marketing of its Sparc microprocessor, is streamlining the organization and instilling discipline within the ranks. By the end of 1989, Sun will dispatch third-party service engineers after training them. The company's marketing budget has been doubled to motivate software developers to write for Sparc. Sun also intends to team up with resellers to target specific accounts. The company's new thrust is a make-or-break effort to remain a leader in the Unix-RISC market, amidst stiff competition.
Publication Name: Business Week
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0007-7135
Year: 1989
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Clonemakers don't scare Sun - it's sending them engraved invitations
Article Abstract:
Sun Microsystems is pursuing an aggressive marketing strategy for its Sparc workstation that involves opening up the architecture to whatever company will want to license it. The premise behind the move is that only the big will survive. To be able to achieve that status, a product should emerge as a standard so that software companies shall be encouraged to create and sell programs for it. So far, only Japan's Matsushita Co has developed a clone, although more than 650 programs have been written for Sparc. Sun has also signed up Toshiba Corp for low-end Sparc machines, and Seiko Instruments for Sparc workstations. Whether the strategy of encouraging cloning will work in Sun's favor remains to be seen. Sun CEO Scott McNealy is optimistic and has, in fact, turned over licensing authority to outside companies.
Publication Name: Business Week
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0007-7135
Year: 1989
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