"Barron's writer Eric Savitz then speculated out loud (by his
own admission) that perhaps Dell should just purchase Palm (NASDAQ:
PALM), which had seen its fortunes shrivel in recent years, making
it quite affordable, but was sitting on a potential winner with its
well-received Palm Pre smart phone.
"Fast-forward three months, and now Collins Stewart analyst
Ashok Kumar sent out a research note that shows Savitz was on to
something, although does not mention him by name, and theorizes the
merger "will be born of mutual necessity."
"Kumar thinks this would allow newly-appointed Palm CEO (and
former Apple executive) Jon Rubenstein a chance to run Dell and let
Michael Dell return to the chairman's job he held before returning
CEO two years ago."
