SiliconBeat

UPDATE: I just got a call from someone close to Elevation Partners who walked me through the numbers. Bottom line: Elevation expects to receive $485 million from the HP deal for the $460 million it invested.

Why? The original $325 million that Elevation invested was guaranteed in the event of an exit. In other words, out of the $1.2 billion that HP is paying, Elevation get made whole for that $325 million. Through in the other warrants and other convertible stock, and Elevations winds up with $485 million.

Worth noting: That also means that common shareholders will be getting much less than the $5.70 per share being touted in press releases.

The common shareholders still get $5.70 per share, a figure calculated after Elevation’s payout is backed out.

See this post from the Wall Street Journal and this one from Barron’s for more details on how the preferred shares are structured.

MY ORIGINAL POST:

At first glance, it’s hard to say for sure whether Elevation Partners will take a hit or just about break even on its Palm investment. On Wednesday, Hewlett-Packard said it was buying Palm for $1.2 billion, or $5.70 per share.

Elevation is Silicon Valley’s big buy-out firm whose investors include Bono of U2 fame and noted venture capitalist Roger McNamee. For a good overview of Elevation, check out this TechCrunch post from a few weeks ago. Palm was one of its biggest bets.

Here’s my math on the deal: Read the rest of this entry »

If you haven’t heard about the current “25 Random Things About Me” phenomenon sweeping Facebook, well, it probably means at the very least that you’re not on Facebook. I started getting messages from folks about this a few weeks ago and brushed it off as yet another time waster. But after getting “tagged” several times, I finally relented and made my own list.

There’s a good story covering the short history of “25 Random Things…” in the New York Times. But basically, it’s a kind of Chain Letter 2.0 thing. You create list of 25 random things about yourself, post it on Facebook, and then “tag” 25 of your friends. When you get “tagged,” you’re supposed to create your own list, tag 25 more people, and so on.

As I said, I’d been tagged a few times, and tried to ignore it. But I finally started creating my own list this week, and just posted it on Facebook.

For those not my friend on Facebook, here is my list: Read the rest of this entry »

Yahoo (ticker:YHOO) recently launched its new online business video, Tech Ticker. (Who came up with the subtitle “I love the smell of the profits in the morning”…?)

We’ll reserve judgment on content and quality while it gets its sea legs. But today they’re featuring NetSuite (ticker:N) which reports earnings today. NetSuite was backed by Oracle CEO Larry Ellison and went public back in December. Since then, its stock has fallen almost by 50 percent from its peak to $22.99 in mid-day trading on Thursday.

Here are a couple of videos where host Sarah Lacy cuddles up on the couch with NetSuite CEO Zach Nelson to talk Big Larry, Salesforce.com, and the company’s IPO:

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