In this fight the winner, by split decision, is plaintiffs
CallWave’s attempt to take itself private caused a brief flare-up in Santa Barbara County Superior Court that likely will result in a payday for some out-of-town attorneys.
The former Santa Barbara company hit the markets with a $40 million initial public offering in 2004. But its flagship products — most notably, a service to let users take calls over a phone line being used to surf the Web — banked on customers connecting via dial-up, and its stock got battered as users fled to broadband.
CallWave moved its operations to San Francisco last year while maintaining legal headquarters in the Tri-Counties.
In early May, the company moved to take itself private, offering to buy out stockholders at $1.15 per share and then carry out a stock-split maneuver that would cash out stockholders with fewer than 5,000 shares. Its revenue down 21 percent between 2007 and 2008, CallWave argued it could save $765,000 a year by taking itself off the NASDAQ.
To view the rest of this column and all other full stories and offerings in the Business Times, see this week’s print version or SUBSCRIBE for $49.99 today.
