It has been a hectic week in my neck of the woods and since Clint wrote the last blog entry, he likes to remind me on a daily basis that I am long overdue for an entry.

As busy as my work has been these days, life must be a whirlwind for those involved the the latest slew of acquisitions and acquisition attempts here in Silicon Valley.

Only a week ago, SAP announced its $6.8 Billion acquisition of Business Objects which surprised many. Like EMC’s acquisition of VMWare, SAP has announced that Business Objects will still operate as its own entity. EMC has been very successful in doing this with VMWare which has had stellar growth post-EMC acquisition and then a “magical” IPO driving shares up to the heights of ~$114 this week from a sub $30 IPO price.

The drama then continued into this week with the attempted acquisition of BEA by Oracle. The bid started at $6.6 Billion and was then increased to $6.7 Billion with BEA management looking like they want to start an auction with IBM and HP as bidders as well. Oracle’s acquisition of PeopleSoft and Siebel were very exciting. It will be interesting to see how the negotiations and maneuvers unfold. How much of it will be based on rational valuation and how much of it will be about ego?

On a more personal level, Citigroup Property Investors acquired 75% majority interest of Loreto Bay Co.  – the development where Clint and I are building our vacation home. Citigroup has been involved in the past but with controlling ownership, David Butterfield will move into an advisory role. So far, it seems that Citigroup Property Investors sees this as a strategic, if not flagship, part of their multi-billion dollar investments in “Green” projects. In general, most Loreto Bay homeowners I’ve talked to seem very positive about the acquisition. For a project of the size of Loreto Bay, it is nice to be backed by a well-funded and experienced investment group. More of the concern is around making sure that the promises and grand visions of sustainability are kept.

Hope you had a great week and are enjoying your weekend.

Loni Kao Stark
Co-Founder StarkSilverCreek, Creative Director and Wine Collector

Loni is a self-professed foodie, adventure travel seeker and aspiring artist. It’s been said her laugh can be heard from San Jose all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge. The former Ms. Global Petite runner-up is host of several SSC shows including WineTube TV, StarkSilverCreek Presents, Loreto Live, and the new series The Artist Diaries. Between busy travel schedules to Washington, Napa and global destinations such as Australia, the Baja and Europe, she expends the rest of her energy collecting wines, practicing “escape artist”-style cooking, and building what she hopes, one day, will be a real estate empire. She catches her breath by writing about her adventures.
Twitter: @lonikaostark More: articles bio

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