Arch near pact to take over paging rival
Article Abstract:
Arch Communications has agreed to acquire rival paging company MobileMedia for approximately $479 million, according to insiders. The proposed cash and stock deal would result in the No. 2 US paging company, which would manage more than seven million customers and more than $800 million in revenue. Terms would extend around 66% to 69% of Arch's approximately 21 million shares outstanding to MobileMedia's unsecured creditors. MobileMedia filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in Jan 1997, and the complex deal requires approval from its creditors. Consolidation is sweeping the paging industry, as companies face pressure from the surging wireless telephone industry. Arch not only would raise its presence, it also would gain access to MobileMedia's lucrative enterprise market. Corporate customers, who represent around 30% to 40% of MobileMedia's users, tend to spend more than residential paging customers.
Publication Name: The Wall Street Journal Western Edition
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0193-2241
Year: 1998
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
Pitney Bowes says it holds 15 patents covering PC metering technologies
Article Abstract:
Pitney Bowes announced that it holds 15 patents covering PC metering technologies, and is attempting to reach licensing deals with participating companies. The postage-meter maker said the technologies span coding and decoding addresses on envelopes to printing postage using a standard computer printer. Pitney may apply the patents toward catching up in the competitive market for downloading stamps by PCs and standard printers. Companies interested in developing PC-meter products rely on such a range of technologies. Licensing discussions have begun with start-up companies E-Stamp and StampMaster, according to Pitney. E-Stamp in Mar 1998 was authorized by the US Postal Service to test a new PC-postage system, which is expected to cost less than $200. E-Stamp's Internet Postage is slated to reach the market later in 1998 or early in 1999.
Publication Name: The Wall Street Journal Western Edition
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0193-2241
Year: 1998
User Contributions:
Comment about this article or add new information about this topic:
- Abstracts: Comverse to buy rival in stock swap. Donald Reed resigns posts of president, CEO of Cabletron Systems. Chrysler's Intranet: Promise vs. Reality
- Abstracts: Much is at stake in highway bill. Closed bases, open doors. Building better workers
- Abstracts: Channel coordination and quantity discounts. Managing supply chain demand variability with scheduled ordering policies
- Abstracts: A new way: Doug Kirkpatrick has discovered the most exciting aspect of computers in the classroom: they change the way he teaches