CompuServe Thread

In the June 23 Issue of Computer Weekly, a respected UK IT Newspaper there is the following article; Samsung makes a play for failing Commodore Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung has emerged as the front-runner in the race to buy failed games computer maker Commodore. At a meeting in Seoul senior management at Samsung confirmed to Computer Weekly that acquisition discussions had gone ahead following Commodore's entry into voluntary liquidation in May this year. But Samsung management stated that the cash price – in the region of $100m – wanted by Commodore was still far too high. "Discussions have gone ahead but at the moment it is just too soon to release any details," said Ali Demin, general manager and director of Samsung Electronics UK. Commodore announced in May that it had chosen to enter voluntary liquidation so as not to hinder talks with a major Far Eastern supplier. If Samsung was to buy Commodore it would give the company a foothold into the highly competitive games console arena. Samsung already manufacturers clones of Sega games consoles for the Korean domestic market, but has no presence outside of this market. Commodore offers a way into the low-cost European computer market, and its CD32 compact disk-based home games/education computer is appealing to Samsung. If the sale goes ahead Samsung is likely to leave Commodore as a separate company and strengthen it by providing low-cost, volume manufacturing from the Far East. #### Apart from getting the date of going into liquidation wrong (March, not May) it all seems plausible. Kevin Flying AutoPilot from Surry in the UK