uark retreats from Adobe camp

Acquisition Hostile takeover bid is unlikely as desktop publishing rivals fail to enter into buyout negotiations.

uark has backed down in its take-over battle for desktop publisherrivals fail to enter into buyout negotiations. Adobe after receiving a knock-back at the beginning of the month.

In September, Quark stated its intention to put forward a proposal to acquire 'all or a significant portion of Adobe's outstanding common stock', (PC Dealer, 2 September). Adobe rejected Quark's proposal.

Fred Ebrahimi, chief executive of Quark, said: 'Since last week, we have tried to open discussions with Adobe, but to no avail - it has not returned our phone calls.'

'We wanted to engage in friendly discussions regarding the specifics of our proposal, but Adobe is not willing to do that,' he said. A hostile takeover looks unlikely because it would harm all parties involved, claimed Ebrahimi.

Last week, at the Seybold publishing seminar in San Francisco, a straw poll of publishing professionals revealed virtually no support for the takeover. Quark, a private company that is widely believed to be only one-fifth the size of its prey, would have had a stranglehold on the pre-press market had the deal gone ahead.

But from the start, Adobe was an unwilling partner. It did not want its flagship Pagemaker publishing software to be sold off.

The attempted takeover co-incided with a low stock price as Adobe tried to overcome a financially difficult spell. The company has threatened to lay off 10 per cent of its workforce and has suffered sales down to about $220 million, from $230 million last year.

The company believes a homegrown recovery package is the answer to its woes. But some observers argue the merger makes sense in a market that is saturated and will have to eventually consolidate.