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01/15/2008
PNO seeks some $-YES
PlanetOut Inc. -- the parent company of Out, The Advocate, Gay.com, etc. -- has announced that they've retained the services of Allen & Company, LLC "to assist the company in evaluating strategic alternatives, including a possible sale of the company":
PlanetOut Inc. Retains Allen & Company, LLC to Evaluate Strategic Alternatives [PNO]
So if anyone has a few million lying around and has a hobby of steering monolithic gay publishing outfits, now is your chance! You'll probably even get free invites to HRC dinners, "L Word" premieres, GLAAD awards, Rosie cruises, and various other highlights on the LGBT calendar. You'll likely get to rub shoulders with the likes of Joe Solmonese, the cast of "Exes & Ohs," and whichever gay "Real World" cast member is currently making the rounds. And you'll learn more about gay vacation destinations than you would if you were a travel agent with an office in the heart of the Castro. Can you say "exciting"?!
Think it over, deep-pocketed queers and allies. PNO operators are standing by waiting to take your calls.
Your thoughts
Let's not forget the rather embarrassing spin a while back by those gays who (incorrectly) insisted that Bill Gates was "bailing out" this perpetually troubled company.
Posted by: KipEsquire | Jan 15, 2008 10:15:22 AM
Well Kip, in fairness, there were mainstream media reports that Gates was, through his Capital Investment venture, ponying up for the company. So I'd be careful calling out those who passed on the information.
But yea, it was apparently untrue. What's weird to me is how the company seemed to develop financial woes almost immediately after acquiring LPI (Advocate, Out, etc). It seems like they were given some really bad advice.
Posted by: G-A-Y | Jan 15, 2008 10:24:37 AM
If only you knew what I knew about this company. I worked for the company for 10 years and "it could have been a contender" if only the President didn't run it into the ground, not to mention do insider trading so of speak...why haven't they prosecuted...well they don't want that kind of publicity while they are still dreading water.
Let go of a whole department without extending their medical benefits and some of those folks are HIV positive. They always said it wasn't just about the money...what a joke! There are good people there unfortunately they are not the ones who can turn this company around.
Posted by: Joe Butler | Feb 9, 2008 8:52:53 PM
President did insider trading before they fired him. Why didn't they disclose this..well who wants this kind of publicity while they are still dreading water.
Let go of a whole department without extending their medical benefits and many were HIV positive. They said this was a company that wasn't just about the money. What a joke!
Still some good people there but not the ones running it. My partner worked there for 10 years. I know so much about what went wrong and how poorly they treated the people their who actually made the company run. Some top executives have burnt this company into the ground.
Posted by: Joe Butler | Feb 9, 2008 8:58:06 PM
This company is like a 101 book on how not to do to be sucessful. I have heard a lot of rumors about how the company runs or doesn't run and who would buy this company now. Let's be real about this. LPI sales are down and gay.com is far from the only game in town now. Also look at how top management doesn't know what they are doing. Just another company that had potential but didn't know what to do with it.
Posted by: lew | Mar 5, 2008 11:51:43 AM
I had heard the rumors about the President of PlantOut Inc. involved with insider trading before he got "fired". It's just sad this company "the little engine that could" is ending with "the little engine that couldn't".
Top management destroyed all the possibiilies for this company's growth.
Knew someone who used to work there and just a shame how many bright people
had to leave because they could see no one was listening to them.
Posted by: charles | Mar 6, 2008 7:02:52 PM
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