March 27th, 2007
I'll say it again: Vonage will go private
Fellow blogger Andy Abramson thinks that with the decline in the price of Vonage stock as a result of the federal court ruling denying Vonage the use of patented Verizon technology, the most advisable route is a sale.
Andy mentions Verizon as a possible acquirer, but adds that there could be "another suitor who has the technology and would be desiring the customer base out there."
As I have said before, SprintNextel would be an advisable suitor- one that would conform to Andy's vision of having the tech and wanting the customer base.
My growing problem with SprintNextel, however, stems from the fact that a year and a half after the SprintNextel merger, they are still having trouble uniting the two companies' billing systems and even their identities. Imagine piling on Vonage to that trainwreck in the making.
I have said it before and I will say it again. Vonage will see a stock buyback, and quite likely, a privatization funded largely by investment banks and private equity. Why? Precadent. I've seen companies with higher opinions of themselves than public investors hold, take that route.
Russell Shaw is an enterprise computing journalist, analyst and author based in Portland, Oregon. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
