Roku
Now in stores
The Roku XD streaming player, previously for sale only online, now can be bought at consumer electronics retailers, the Saratoga company announced Wednesday. The $79.99 box allows owners to stream video, music and social media content to their televisions from such sites as Netflix (NFLX), Amazon, Hulu Plus, Pandora and Facebook. “Expanded distribution to retail has always been important for Roku as it gives customers the ability to see the product before purchasing,” company spokesman Brian Jaquet said in an email. The Roku XD player will be sold at Best Buy, Fry’s Electronics, BJ’s Wholesale Club and RadioShack, according to a news release. Roku was founded in 2002. According to TechCrunch, it has raised more than $14 million in funding from Netflix, the Los Gatos online movie pioneer, and Menlo Ventures.
— Frank Russell, Mercury News
eBay
Suit over purchase
eBay (EBAY) and its takeover target GSI Commerce were sued by an investor claiming eBay’s $2.4 billion offer is a “bargain price” and the company is worth more. Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, which operates trains and buses in the Philadelphia area, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in Delaware Chancery Court in Wilmington against the companies and GSI officials, including Chief Executive Officer Michael Rubin. “The consideration proposed as part of the transaction is inadequate,” lawyers for Septa, a GSI shareholder, said in court papers. “GSIC, with its stock price depressed but its future prospects golden, was a prime target for eBay.” San Jose-based eBay agreed to pay GSI investors $29.25 a share in cash, according to a March 28 statement. GSI shares soared 51 percent from their previous close of $19.38 on the announcement.
— Bloomberg News
Salesforce
To buy Radian6
Salesforce.com, the largest supplier of customer-management software, agreed to buy Radian6 Technologies for about $340 million in cash and stock to add software that lets companies keep abreast of the social Web. The price includes $276 million in cash and $50 million in stock, Salesforce said Wednesday in a statement. Radian6 tracks what’s being said about companies and their products on websites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and LinkedIn. Dell, General Electric and PepsiCo use Radian6 to spot sales opportunities on those sites or respond to customer complaints, Salesforce Chief Marketing Officer Kendall Collins said. In December, Salesforce agreed to buy Heroku for $212 million to tap the surging market for applications written in the Ruby programming language.
–Bloomberg News
