http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20060315/1133233.shtml

Quote :

"Woz Raises $150 Million For, Well, Nobody Knows from the black-box dept Looking to capitalize on the Apple halo effect, three former company executives, including co-founder Steve Wozniak, took their new company, Acquicor Technology, public yesterday in an IPO raising $150 million. The money they raised is purely based on their reputation, as Acquicor Technology, is officially designated as a "blank-check" company (no, really, it's in their filings), meaning they don't do anything yet and can do whatever they want with investor money. Wozniak seems to have a knack for using his name to raise money before having an established operation (in the case of his last venture Wheels of Zeus, he developed a dog-tracking device based on GPS). So why launch what is basically a public venture capital fund, which will inevitably have the CMGI ick factor? Perhaps because the compensation can work out so much better. The company's S-1 SEC filing reveals that while public investors are paying $6/share, the executives bought in at $.004/share, meaning they've already netted themselves over $30 million based on the size of the offering. Had they launched a $150 million venture capital fund, netting this much in performance fees would have been far harder. What makes the offering more odd is that the executives are very busy with their own projects -- CEO Gilbert Amelio is a partner at a VC firm, while Wozniak remains president of the aforementioned Wheels of Zeus. As the company doesn't have any full-time employees, it's not clear who will be tending to the investors interests. Other than following what investments the inventive Wozniak makes, it will be interesting to see how long he can continue to use his name for fundraising. "

3/16/2006 4:32:49 PM

i wish i could get $150 million on a whim

3/16/2006 4:53:54 PM

send your resume for some early iso's

3/16/2006 4:57:48 PM

Steve Wozniak is pretty smart a genius

3/16/2006 5:15:55 PM

Woz is second in my book only to Phil Schiller. Schiller-mania forever!!

3/16/2006 7:25:51 PM

i dont know which founding steve is my favorite

teh woz or balmer.

3/16/2006 7:28:03 PM

I met Woz, waaaaaayy back in 1987!

3/16/2006 7:39:06 PM

I dated a Wozniak... fucking bitch.

3/16/2006 10:54:09 PM

Maya Wozniak?

3/16/2006 10:56:19 PM

Kelly

3/16/2006 11:07:53 PM

Quote :

"i dont know which founding steve is my favorite teh woz or balmer."

Oh please. This is no contest. Balmer is a total dick. He's just Gates' drinking buddy from college, and apparently insane to boot. What has he ever actually contributed to the field?

3/17/2006 2:10:01 AM

hahaha, gg jon

3/17/2006 9:55:22 AM

the insaneness is what makes him awesome.

hes definately alot cooler than jobs

3/17/2006 10:01:16 AM

He definitely sweats a lot more.

3/17/2006 10:02:15 AM

DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS DEVELOPERS!

3/17/2006 10:05:41 AM