IBM Makes Hostile Offer For Lotus; $3.3 Billion Proposal May Spark More Bids
International Business Machines Corp. yesterday made an unsolicited $3.3 billion offer for one of the pioneering names of the computer age, Lotus Development Corp. Analysts said the move could touch off a 1980s-style bidding war on Wall Street if other companies try to top IBM's offer.</br></br>Lotus's management said it would consider the $60-a-share proposal, which is nearly double the price Lotus's shares were selling for on Friday on the Nasdaq stock market. Investors, apparently believing a sale would go through with or without Lotus management's blessing, furiously bought stock in the Cambridge, Mass.-based company.</br></br>"This certainly puts Lotus `into play' right now," said Jeff Leopold, analyst at Boston-based research firm Yankee Group, using Wall Street's term for a company that is up for acquisition.</br></br>Analysts mentioned AT&T Corp. and software companies Novell Inc. and Oracle Corp. as possible rival suitors. AT&T declined to comment. Novel and Oracle did not respond to requests for comment.</br></br>Lotus's stock rose 89 percent yesterday to close at $61.44 a share, higher than the IBM offer, indicating investors' expectation of a bidding war in which the offering price would rise. IBM's stock closed at $91.37 1/2, down $2.50.