Palm to buy Be

Posted on 16 Aug 2001 at 17:50

Palm is to acquire software developer Be for $11 million, conditional on Be stockholders' approval, it announced today.

The proposed sale of Be's intellectual property and technology assets has been an open secret for some time and though Sony was seen as the most likely purchaser, Palm was believed to be in the frame along with AOL. Be specialises in developing software for to enable rich media and Web content on PCs and Internet appliances. Presumably, Palm will be looking to integrate this technology with its PalmOS operating software for handheld devices. The purchase comes shortly after Palm's announcement that it is to separate the Palm Solutions Group - responsible for the development of the Palm OS - from the device manufacturing group.

Part of the deal should see Be's engineering team joining Palm. Carl Yankowski, Palm CEO, explained that, 'This move will help us expand the Palm OS platform into broader markets using their multimedia media and Internet expertise.'

At one stage Apple was seen as a likely Be buyer, when it was looking around for technologies to incorporate in to its next-generation operating system. Instead it opted to buy NeXT from Steve Jobs, parts of which are still evident in the final version of OS X.

Author: Simon Aughton