LINDEN RESEARCH, INC. TO BE ACQUIRED

[Okyn Starlight]

Not good news at all. Investment groups are notorious for buying-up businesses, purging the profits, liquidating what's left, and shutting them down.

Edited July 21, 2020 by onix Velde

[Jumpman Lane]

2 hours ago, Silent Mistwalker said:

Wasted Engineer he is not. 😇

Me and WE were pals. We both got banned from Some Dumb Forum Mark Deuce hehehehehe

(NOT this one. Though I WAS banned from the original version of this one lol).

Edited July 22, 2020 by Jumpman Lane

[Daniel Voyager]

Ebbe says the deal has to close first and it will take some time due to the regulatory process. 

[Seicher Rae]

Good Lord. Jumpman Lane with a mention of Wasted Engineer? I'm having one helluva flashback. :::takes another "shot" because this stuff must be good:::

 

Actually as I scroll through the last few pages of this thread, it is nice to: a) not see an entire page with the notices that "you have chosen to block...", and b) to see new faces, and new old faces (several) and not just the self-chosen few who are convinced of their One True Way for everything.

And interesting to read the note from Ebbe that the deal isn't done yet.

[Coffee Pancake]

4 hours ago, Daniel Voyager said:

[Drakonadrgora Darkfold]

The world is ending and it will be the fault of the investors!!!111!!! :P~~~

Calm down everyone, stop getting your panties in an uproar over the possible sales of SL.. its not going to do any good doing this.

[Coffee Pancake]

Nothing bad has happened due to uncertainty, nothing at all.

[foneco Zuzu]

 Second Life users are showing that there is much more then just sex going on here; we are defenders of freedom rights and tolerance and Real World should be looking for US ass beacons of Democracy!

 See how much BLM funds where  raised in just a few weeks; see how many LGBT communities we have and so much more.

Investors no matter who they will be need to keep this candle alive, most of all nowadays where we see real life human rights being forgotten everywhere!

[Bagnu]

I do believe us to be tribal in RL, and that can transcend race, sexual orientation, or religious belief. It can be as simple as those of us who simply like each other for no explainable reason. Or just the same taste in music. Then we are both judged by others outside of our tribe, and judge as well. I have, or had friends in many different communities. I even have a gf in RL who is quite puritanical, but we agree to disagree!!! But now I'm off topic lol!!!

Edited July 23, 2020 by Bagnu

[Jumpman Lane]

12 hours ago, Seicher Rae said:

Good Lord. Jumpman Lane with a mention of Wasted Engineer? I'm having one helluva flashback. :::takes another "shot" because this stuff must be good:::

 

Actually as I scroll through the last few pages of this thread, it is nice to: a) not see an entire page with the notices that "you have chosen to block...", and b) to see new faces, and new old faces (several) and not just the self-chosen few who are convinced of their One True Way for everything.

And interesting to read the note from Ebbe that the deal isn't done yet.

Yeah I'm back. I hope SL aint destroyed by  this "unfinished" transaction. I just got my avi right!

No I wasn't dead. No i wasn't in jail. And no I ain't been behaving. (To answer the 1st  3 questions I usually get asked. Hehehehehehe).

And wtf has WE been doing whi' I was gone? Sounds like he stirred up a lil bit of trouble lol

Edited July 23, 2020 by Jumpman Lane

[Mollymews]

7 minutes ago, Jumpman Lane said:

I hope SL aint destroyed by  this "unfinished" transaction

if the deal doesn't finalise then nothing changes.  Linden still has the same owners

the current Linden owners will most probably look for somebody else to buy their Linden shares. Plan B

Linden just with Second Life is still a pretty profitable company. It still earns tidy profits, more so now that Sansar costs have been removed from the balance sheet

a Plan C, should the current Plan A not finalise, and no takers for Plan B,  could be that Linden keeps Tilia and sells Second Life (sans Tilia) in whole or part. No regulatory compliance issues in this kind of Plan C

who would buy Second Life in the Plan C scenario ? Most likely a management / resident investor consortium

[Bagnu]

I tend to have the suspicion though that they wouldn't remove my community. A lot to lose that way. Maybe just "pretend" to if necessary.

[Paulsian]

I hope for the pretty woman ending. I hope they see the same beauty and value of this platform we all share in our own ways and are interested in helping us to continue to build and improve this epic social battleship with fewer boundaries. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_MxiP1RckE

Edited July 23, 2020 by Paulsian

[Skyspinner Soulstar]

On 7/9/2020 at 6:29 PM, Pixie Kobichenko said:

Why was it sold? 
There was no google news results for linden labs being sold.  Just weeks old stuff for Sansar.  Does this mean SL is having money issues or what?

http://www.globallegalchronicle.com/investment-groups-acquisition-of-linden-research/

 

[Qie Niangao]

1 hour ago, Skyspinner Soulstar said:

http://www.globallegalchronicle.com/investment-groups-acquisition-of-linden-research/

Very interesting. Whole lotta lawyers on Lab's side:

Quote

The Fenwick transaction team representing Linden Research included corporate partners Samuel Angus (Picture) and Ken Myers and associates Trevor Lynch, Myles Gutenkunst and Johnny Meraz-Debraine; debt partner David Michaels; intellectual property partner Jonathan Millard and associates Joseph Schenck, Ana Razmazma and Lise Berichel; executive compensation & employee benefits partner Nancy Chen and associate Jonathan Stephenson; and tax partner William Skinner and associate Kris Hatch.

I don't know how these M&A legal teams work, so what do I know? but it's not immediately obvious to me why they'd need a "debt partner" unless there's some leverage around here somewhere.

[MBeatrix]

On 7/10/2020 at 7:50 AM, Drayke Newall said:

Odd comparing Mark Kingdon and Ebbe as to different sides of the coin. Whilst I would agree Ebbe is far better than Mark, at least Mark saw future for Second Life and actively tried to make it and not another program more appealing. Also, the reason I said it was odd you comparing the two is, because it is Ironic in the paths that they took were in essence identical and proven to take the same unfortunate end, yet one is hated and the other is not. Let me put it this way.

Under Mark Kingdon's tenure, he wanted to look at a world in which businesses can create independently hosted grids on users/business computers (aka basically Sansar except using SL as the platform). He called it Second Life Enterprise. It failed and led to many layoffs and the final nail in the SL hype train.

Ebbe did, in essence the same except, invested millions more into a separate program to do the same. A separate hostable world except made those worlds downloadable and not streamed. It lead to many layoffs as well as now this where Linden Lab is sold 'Acquired'.

You may say coincidence, I say Ironic.

The issue now is where can SL go from here? in 2010 SL still had a place where Virtual Worlds were all the rage and new ones popping up left right and centre. Now its a different story with near none being looked at. Any company investing in this world is only going to look at dollars and things it can use to make more- especially an investment group. Given Tillia is so linked to SL and it being unlikely Linden Lab were going to sell one without the other, I worry that Tillia was the main goal and SL is just a necessity afterthought to get that.

We do get emotionally involved with SL or whatever digital world we're in, but for those who run it it's only business. They sell peanuts and rake in all the big bucks... In the case of SL it's not even peanuts — they sell you the ability (considered calling it "license") of using their product in their own terms, not at all yours, and as long as they decide to allow you doing that. In the very end, you get a handful of... nothing.

Usually, nothing good for consumers comes out from speculative moves. When it does, it's a mere accident. And yes, I too think that Tilia may have been the real appeal...

[Coffee Pancake]

6 hours ago, Qie Niangao said:

I don't know how these M&A legal teams work, so what do I know? but it's not immediately obvious to me why they'd need a "debt partner" unless there's some leverage around here somewhere.

AFAIK that's the only reason to have one. Not stonks.

[Lancewae Barrowstone]

8 hours ago, Skyspinner Soulstar said:

http://www.globallegalchronicle.com/investment-groups-acquisition-of-linden-research/

 

 

As per "was it sold" asked by Pixie, apparently the acquiring party (the investment group) were allowed to purchase a controlling position in stocks, meaning LL holders agreed to sell that amount to them.  Thus, the new buyers take positions on the board of directors which they essentially control, but that doesn't mean despotism. Boards do real work and try hard for successes. Nor does it mean the death of LL and it's creation SL. Nor will we really learn much now, until this transference is made.  The agreement has been reached and silent will remain until closing. 

So, for us, there has been this slight mysterious burst of the volcano above us -- our own little Mauna Kea living quietly there beside us (".. the moon moves around her while she sleeps...") -- and too, we see have seen the mysterious puffs of smoke in these announcements of the "acquisition,"  yet we can't know the meanings. Not yet, and probably even the board won't know 'til the new guys walk in and sit down.  I hope the buffet is good that day.  And so, our Mauna Kea that is LL/SL, continues to stand there where our avatars were born beside her, and where "the sun spreads its warmth across her face." 

~ A hui hou kākou

 

[Bagnu]

7 hours ago, MBeatrix said:

Usually, nothing good for consumers comes out from speculative moves. When it does, it's a mere accident. And yes, I too think that Tilia may have been the real appeal...

I totally agree about Tilia. And we are an "Adult" community. Porn is big business, and a lot of us ARE porn producers as that is what those of us in SL Adult Community provide!!! Combining those two could mean serious profits!!!

[Pixie Kobichenko]

13 hours ago, Skyspinner Soulstar said:

http://www.globallegalchronicle.com/investment-groups-acquisition-of-linden-research/

 

Yes, thank you- I have found a bit more info since I posted that.

[Maryanne Solo]

HOT OFF THE PRESS!
In an astounding development! globe trotter, international celebrity and good taste spokesperson, W Engineer, has stepped in and bought LL outright. 😲
¡Todo se convertirá al español! 💪👀📣Everything will be converted to Spanish!..
Mr Engineer repeatedly commented at today's press briefing, after smelling the assembled throngs coffee... 🤥☕

Edited July 24, 2020 by Maryanne Solo
Felt emBOLDened :)

[Silent Mistwalker]

On 7/21/2020 at 6:37 PM, Jumpman Lane said:

Me and WE were pals. We both got banned from Some Dumb Forum Mark Deuce hehehehehe

(NOT this one. Though I WAS banned from the original version of this one lol).

That is quite an "accomplishment", getting banned from SCII. 😁

[Charlotte Bartlett]

On 7/23/2020 at 7:12 AM, Qie Niangao said:

Very interesting. Whole lotta lawyers on Lab's side:

I don't know how these M&A legal teams work, so what do I know? but it's not immediately obvious to me why they'd need a "debt partner" unless there's some leverage around here somewhere.

In M&A typically most investors do not hold enough cash to make a cash based purchase of the target company. So the investor will decide if to finance via debt or equity (or / and various combinations thereof).   LL will have representation too in that area, as both parties are involved in the structuring of the deal and they are the recipient of the financing.

[Daniel Voyager]

Philip Rosedale founder of Second Life was on Lab Gab on Friday saying it would be a good thing on the Linden Lab acquisition.

It's been a month and it's gone pretty quiet in terms of new updates.  

[Chic Aeon]

1 hour ago, Daniel Voyager said:

Philip Rosedale founder of Second Life was on Lab Gab on Friday saying it would be a good thing on the Linden Lab acquisition.

It's been a month and it's gone pretty quiet in terms of new updates.  

Do we know that the acquisition has gone through?  Google doesn't seem to know and I see nothing on the LL website. In the announcement last month it stated that things had to be approved and such.  It could take quite awhile especially with Tilia in the mix.