Re: Yet Another Arnold Article

"IanH" <none@xxxxxxxxxx> wrote in news:431581e9@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:

> Wayne Niddery [TeamB] wrote:
>
>>
>> In the normal case I would agree. However there have recently been
>> public statements by Coates stating his view that the tools should be
>> divested, and of course a lot of speculation by others (blogs and
>> other articles) discussing this very thing. *In that context* I think
>> his statement was reasonable (not to say it couldn't have been
>> better, but still reasonable).
>
> I note that he does not mention the merits or otherwise of spinning off
> the tools - merely pointing out that the Coates plan lacks specificity,
> as "there is nothing that Coates has said that we have not thought of
> ourselves".
>
>
> This is clearly a live option for the company - which would not be the
> case if the development tools were viewed as of strategic importance.

>From you posts I would conclude that you do not have direct experience in
managing a public company. A public company is always for sale, in fact,
it has already been sold (that is what shareholders are, the buyers of the
company). If a company can sell part of itself for more money than the
intrinsic value of that part, considering both short term and long term
aspects) then the management of the company has a fiduciary responsibility
to the shareholders to do so in order to maximize shareholder value.

Consequently, any public company must take the official position of being
willing to consider any offer at any time. And if the management is doing
its job properly, it is considering all of its options all the time, from
expansion to going out of business.

Borland's management's job is to maximize shareholder value. Producing
excellent software development tools is just the way that Borland has
chosen to do that up till now. Presumably they will continue to do so as
long as that activity maximizes shareholder value. The minute that
producing software development tools ceases to maximize shareholder value,
they are required to do something else that is better.
.