Our sister publication ClieNT Server News suggests the Compaq Computer-Micron Electronics acquisition talks are back on again in earnest. The way it hears it, it could happen any minute. In April what were called preliminary discussions imploded without Compaq making a real offer (CI No 3,137). Then in mid-May Micron said its third quarter results would be 10% off its second quarter, depressing its stock price to the $15 range, down from the $22-to-$25 it was at when it was talking to Compaq (CI No 3,160). That price may explain why Compaq may have come around again. Compaq is said to be interested in the two-year-old $1.8bn PC maker for its Dell Computer-competitive direct-mail structure, something that’s expensive to set up and could alienate resellers if Compaq does it itself though it’s said it would.
