• Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.

Bill Gates: "If MSFT CEO Nadella wants 2 spin off @XBox biz I'm absolutely for it."

N

Netherscourge

Banned
Does it make any sense for the new guy to attempt to sell off his employer's business division, of which he is in full control, when the new owner/employer could fire him and replace him upon completion of the deal?

Nadella: Here, by this division from my boss!
Amazon: Ok, thanks! BTW, you're fired! We're putting our own guy in charge! Have a nice day! PS, sign up for PRIME to get 2-day shipping for free!
 
K

Killroyskbg

Member
Spinning it of does not automatically mean selling it to the highest bidder just that the Xbox division becomes independent of MS other division and not included in their economics. In other words Xbox will have to finance itself most likely as a standalone company. This is common within any market where you have divisions that are more or less profitable from each other. By splitting the less profitable division from the company they can show better figures and increase their profits and at the same time making shareholders happy.

While as some of you have already said that this sounds more as Bill trusting the new CEO to make the right decisions this will be quoted all over the place and more shareholders will look closer at the subject and vote for MS splitting Xbox off. This is Bill Gates after all who still is looked upon as MS personified.
 
McHuj

McHuj

Member
If Xbox were to be spun off, we'd finally see the financials of what Live is worth and how much revenue Xbox brings in.

If Xbox is a real money loser, it would be unlikely that investors would put money into a new IPO of the The Xbox Company. I doubt they can jettison a money loser into the public. If Xbox is in poor shape financially, I think a sale would come before a spin-off.
 
B

BRocknRolla

Member
NemesisPrime said:
Why? XBox is XBox... if MS owns it or some other faceless mega corp, it doesn't change anything. I don't understand why people cling so much to the companies behind the machines?
Click to expand...

This is well said. The company loyalty... It's a weird thing. It's a consumer transaction and nothing more. If MS owns Xbox, or Amazon, or Samsung; the only thing that is important is what the company is willing to offer the consumer. MS could drastically turn things around of the corporate will was there, and moving the company to another corporate overlord isn't necessarily going to effect the situation. Hell, it might end up being much worse. (Someone could buy it and turn it into exclusively a cheap games and microtransaction box.) There's no way to know what a new corporation would do.

ComputerMKII said:
Why do people think this? What do they find wrong with Microsoft? Honest question, I'm curious about it
Click to expand...

There are many criticisms of MS. That they're not a gaming company first and foremost and therefore have their attention split in too many directions to give the Xbox what it needs, that they lack the corporate will to make the big changes or investment that the Xbox needs rights now, that they're in the business of fleecing customers whenever they can (XBL and $100 premium). Whatever the veracity of those criticisms, some people think it would change if they were under new ownership. But there's really no way to know and there would no doubt be just as many potential negatives as positives in any kind of transition. It's just a "grass is always greener" attitude since there's really no way to know if things would be better.
 
J

jcm

Member
ShockingAlberto said:
Selling isn't the same as spinning-off. In the latter, they'd still control it and reap the profits (and suffer the losses), but they'd be given more autonomy within the company.

But the real point here is that Bill Gates isn't going to publicly say "Man, fuck what Nadella wants, I have my own ideas."
Click to expand...

That's not what spinning off means. If they were to spin it off, it would be a separate business, and they would not control it.

Edit: here's the actual definition, straight from the SEC:
Spin-Offs
In a "spin-off," a parent company distributes shares of a subsidiary to the parent company's shareholders so that the subsidiary becomes a separate, independent company. The shares are usually distributed on a pro rata basis. State law and the rules of the stock exchanges determine whether a company must seek shareholder approval for a spin-off.
 
G

gamechanger87

Member
Can someone please put this in the OP?

http://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/2014/05/05/buffett-leery-social-media-stocks-ipos/?cmpid=cmty_twitter_fb

Gates, the founder and former CEO of Microsoft, said he’s been helping new CEO Satya Nadella transition into his new leadership role and that he would support Nadella if the new CEO proposed a spinoff of one of Microsoft’s units.

But Gates said he didn’t foresee either Bing, the company’s search engine division, or Xbox, its gaming division, as potential stand-alone companies because they are part of Microsoft’s long-term strategy.
Click to expand...

H/T Jesu
 
T

TyrantII

Member
alr1ght said:
I'd have to see the exact quote and leading question to know how to interpret his answer.

It did give us this gem.
https://twitter.com/PS4hater/status/463358847680135168
4hpul00.png

(look at his main profile). :)
Click to expand...

Wow. Pretty amusing that someone is so invested in a fucking brand that they'd make an alt account of a real person just to push FUBAR.

Thats dedication. And pathetic.
 
J

justsomeguy

Member
Digital-Hero said:
Apple Xbox
Click to expand...

-Plasma Reus- said:
Amazon Xbox would be a great thing.
I'd jump in.
Click to expand...
How did you guys feel about Microsoft's original drm plan? Genuine question as both these companies are drm/lock-in proponents.

(edit: btw - I'm not trying to be argumentative on this in case it reads that way - I'm just genuinely interested. My view on the sharing/drm plan is that it should have been opt-in not mandatory and MS should have let the benefits speak for themselves (no disks needed, etc.))
 
I

IchigoSharingan

Member
i suggest we change the title of the thread.........a lot of xbox gamers will come into GAF, see the title, and click nervously. All for nothing, really.
 
N

nynt9

Member
Darksol said:
Not really. Bill didn't say they were spinning off Xbox, just that, hypothetically, if Nadella wanted to do it he'd be all for it. So, he's for it, but he doesn't think that it will happen.
Click to expand...

In fact, his support for Bing was stronger than the support for Xbox. He made a strong case for Bing but for Xbox he said it's not that obvious, and when pressed, he said he'd absolutely support Nadella wanting to spin it off if it happened.
 
I

ironcreed

Banned
sinxtanx said:
So basically THE EXACT OPPOSITE
Click to expand...

Yeah, he is pretty much stating that he will support Nadella's decisions. But then he elaborates by stating that he thinks spinning Xbox off is a bad idea because it is part of the long-term plan. And beings that Nadella has been clear in his support anyway, it's not happening anytime soon.

Read the full statement, people. He is against spinning it off.
 
B

benny_a

extra source of jiggaflops
IchigoSharingan said:
i suggest we change the title of the thread.........a lot of xbox gamers will come into GAF, see the title, and click nervously. All for nothing, really.
Click to expand...
You can always be proactive and message a moderator that is online. I've done it in the past even when I'm not the thread creator,

That twitterghetto speak is horrible to look at anyway. ;-)
 
W

Wickerbasket

Member
Netherscourge said:
Does it make any sense for the new guy to attempt to sell off his employer's business division, of which he is in full control, when the new owner/employer could fire him and replace him upon completion of the deal?

Nadella: Here, by this division from my boss!
Amazon: Ok, thanks! BTW, you're fired! We're putting our own guy in charge! Have a nice day! PS, sign up for PRIME to get 2-day shipping for free!
Click to expand...
What are you talking about?

Nadella is the CEO of Microsoft, he'll still have his job if the Xbox division gets spun off; some other guy is head of the Xbox Division.
 
M

Maybesew

Member
jcm said:
That's not what spinning off means. If they were to spin it off, it would be a separate business, and they would not control it.

Edit: here's the actual definition, straight from the SEC:
Spin-Offs
In a "spin-off," a parent company distributes shares of a subsidiary to the parent company's shareholders so that the subsidiary becomes a separate, independent company. The shares are usually distributed on a pro rata basis. State law and the rules of the stock exchanges determine whether a company must seek shareholder approval for a spin-off.
Click to expand...

The devil would be in the details. When a company is spun off, new shares are created under a new stock ticker symbol. The shareholders of MSFT, would be compensated with shares of the new company. For rough numbers example, if xbox was 20% of MSFT worth, then for every 10 shares of MSFT you own, you would be given 2 shares of xbox. Which reduces down to 1 for every 5.

At that point in time, xbox would be publicly traded. But in terms of "control" it depends on how what percentage of xbox is spun off. It's within MSFT rights to spin off 49% of the company. There would still be newly traded shares of the new company, but 51% of them would be owned by Microsoft. The only thing that would change would be the valuation of the shares that are spunoff to the existing MSFT share holders.

On day 1, a spin off is much like a stock split in that it's a zero-sum move. But both are done in hopes of creating more value over time.
 
J

Justified

Member
nynt9 said:
In fact, his support for Bing was stronger than the support for Xbox. He made a strong case for Bing but for Xbox he said it's not that obvious, and when pressed, he said he'd absolutely support Nadella wanting to spin it off if it happened.
Click to expand...

He mentioned the technology behind Bing, and an "Overall gaming strategy" a merging of Windows gaming and Xbox

He didnt make these comments:

But Gates said he didn’t foresee either Bing, the company’s search engine division, or Xbox, its gaming division, as potential stand-alone companies because they are part of Microsoft’s long-term strategy
Click to expand...

He was advocating for the technology that the operate on, not the Companies themselves
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Microsoft's executives take big hits to compensation due to missing targets: Satya (-11%), Brad Smith (-23%) Amy Hood (-24%)
Business 2 3
103
7K
tr1p1ex replied
[Jez Corden] OPINION: This week's big Xbox drama showcases how little people trust Nadella's Microsoft — a legacy forged in the death of Windows Phone
2 3 4
164
12K
Rosoboy19 replied
Microsoft CEO Nadella: "Our entire goal is to bring more options for gamers to be able to play, and for publishers to have more competition."
2 3 4 5 6
280
45K
Eddie-Griffin replied
Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass service grows to 34 million subscribers (includes GamePass Core, formerly Gold)
News 3 4 5 6 7
309
24K
C2brixx replied
  • Locked
Phillip W. Spencer III”Phil Spencer on Helldivers 2 Not Being on Xbox: 'I'm Not Exactly Sure Who It Helps'”
News
0
5K
gokurho replied
Top Bottom