The Industry Standard - Seagate announces it will become a private company? - Comments

Judged negative. Lower than

Ian Lamont — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:46:27 -0400

Judged negative. Lower than expected loss, but it's still a publicly traded company:

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/seagate-swings-to-loss-on-restructuring...

Ian Lamont
Managing Editor
The Industry Standard
twitter.com/the_standard

I'm holding off on judgment

Ian Lamont — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:05:08 -0400

I'm holding off on judgment -- the earnings call won't take place until July 21:

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/July2009/10/c5464.html

Ian Lamont
Managing Editor
The Industry Standard
twitter.com/the_standard

This is becoming less likely

David Kuan — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:04:07 -0400

This is becoming less likely given Seagate: Revenue better than expected; Raises cash to pay debt

Seagate announces it will become a private company?

Yi-Wyn Yen — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 12:49:34 -0500

Hard-drive manufacturer Seagate dumped its outspoken CEO Bill Watkins just days after he made the rounds at CES. The news of of Watkin's dismissal came just nine days prior to Seagate's Q2 earnings report. Seagate has announced it will lay off 10% of its U.S. staff and cut salaries of top execs by as much as 25% due to declining sales. The company is trading at less than $5 a share, plummeting more than 80% from its 52-week high of $24.11.

Fortune's Adam Lashinsky suggests that the publicly-traded company may turn private again. August Capital, which has taken Silver Lake and TPG private, has invested twice in Seagate. Lashinsky notes that August co-founder David Marquardt is on Seagate's board, along with chairman Stephen Luczo, the newly reinstated CEO who loves to do M&A deals.

Prediction: Seagate announces that the company will become private by the time it reports its Q4 2009 earnings, which takes place in mid-July.

Image: Robert Scoble/Flickr