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IDG, Owner of PCWorld and Research Firm IDC, in Advanced Talks To Sell Itself To Chinese Buyout Group: Reuters (reuters.com)
International Data Group, a pioneer in technology publishing and owner of such venerable names as PCWorld and the market research firm IDC, is in talks to sell itself for more than $1 billion to a Chinese investor group headed by IDG of Greater China chairman Hugo Shong, reports Reuters. From the report:The identity of the other investors in the group and the exact size of the deal could not be learned. The privately held company had been seeking a valuation of $500 million to $1 billion, according to the people, who did not want to be named because the matter is private. While the parties are in advanced discussions, no deal is finalized and talks could fall apart at any time, the people cautioned. IDG, based in Framingham, Massachusetts, declined to comment. Shong could not immediately be reached for comment. Founded in 1964, IDG has grown to be one of the largest global trade publishers, with hundreds of tech-focused websites and magazines. Its charismatic founder and longtime CEO, Pat McGovern, died two years ago.
Suddenly ads for Huawei and hacked Android devices spike in Infoworld.... And somehow that firewall rule for blocking China doesn't seem to be working any more. ...
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EVERYTHING IS GOING TO CHINA, WE CANNOT LET THIS HAPPEN ohh wait, it is PCWorld................ THROW THEM OVER THE WALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yeah right. "One of the largest trade publishers"? This ain't 1996.
Rather than some random Wall Street financial services company buying IDG, slapping some paint on it and reselling it three or four years down the road or just writing it off for tax purposes, Hugo Shong would actually have the best interests in mind for this hugely under-invested tech media giant. Shong was a protege' of IDG's founder Pat McGovern and founding general partner of IDG Capital Partners and chairman of IDG Greater China. His purchase of the company would basically be keeping it in the family. This is a good profile of Shong. Of course, this hinges on Trump not blocking this with his trade agenda.
Ain't there a dog you can cuddle?
I agree. PC World was always a mediocre magazine - even in the heyday of PCs in the 90s. America is the winner if PC World ceases to be American. In fact, they should translate the whole thing into Mandarin and Cantonese, and cancel the English edition altogether
Excuse me if I don't hold my breath till that one comes to fruition.....
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
As far as IDG goes, they're the old guard computing trade publications from the print era (Computerworld, CIO, InfoWorld, etc.) and run a bunch of marketing shill companies that put on trade shows. I wonder what the Chinese want with them...I can't remember the last time i sat down to read some of their publications. I'll check out an article here and there but I'd hardly call them the authority on fresh cutting edge tech news.
I've seen a lot of stories lately that go something like "Chinese firm buys American firm in mega-deal!!! OMG disaster!" I'm just old enough to remember when the US was freaking out as Japan bought very large, symbolically important American companies and properties at the height of their economic bubble. It was certainly worrisome enough that MBAs were being encouraged to learn Japanese, for example. And that kind of made sense -- in 20 years they had managed to break the domestic automakers' virtual "triopoly" on car manufacturing and produced some seriously good consumer electronics, so there was definitely consumer-level recognition of their rise.
I guess the only thing that's different is that China has a huge population advantage and a...more involved...central government. One of the advantages they have is that, while they're basically a market economy, they retain full control over some key economic and society levers. In their case, something that would take years of fighting and compromise to make happen here is done basically at will. Imagine trying the "mass migration" that China is working on in the US...moving hundreds of millions of peasants to the cities to stimulate growth. You'd have a revolution on your hands here if you tried to move someone.
So, Chinese trade rules prevent foreign owned companies from engaging in certain businesses in their local market. Publishing is one of those businesses. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.
the growth in cynicism and rebellion has not been without cause
If "businesses are people too" with a right to free (paid for) speech in this country, and we allow foreign owned government/business entities to operate here, then we are extending the right to free (paid for) speech to foreign governments in this country. That seems like it might not be in this country's best interest.
the growth in cynicism and rebellion has not been without cause
You have safe spaces to take care of that. As far as the dog goes, you are its safe space
Posing as an IDC surveyor is the perfect platform for industrial espionage, no? Especially if you don't need to pose because you actually are conducting an IDC survey.
When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a thumb.
The rule at Slashdot is that EVERY word in a headline must begin with a capital letter. It's a nostalgic rule dating back to the early days of Slashdot and newspapers like the New York Times. Back in the 1800s, there was an imperative to sell papers with drama: shouting newsboys and huge headlines about some lurid gossip.
Slashdot proudly carries on that tradition, though it has no newspapers to sell. If the headline cluttered with caps is hard to read, just consider it a harkening back to the early days of Slashdot.
...omphaloskepsis often...