It appears that both HTC and Huawei have decided not to move forward with plans to acquire Palm, the beleaguered company behind the webOS-driven Pre and Pixi smarpthones. According to Reuters unnamed sources, that leaves Lenovo as the leading candidate to buy Palm. The sale could top as much as US$1 billion assuming Palm maintains its current valuation.
Not only does Lenovo have the cash to buy Palm out but the acquisition would give it an established brand presence in the United States. At the same time, it could also face more losses in upcoming quarters as it works to turn things around.
According to Reuters, HTC decided not to move forward after reviewing Palm’s books and finding that “there just weren’t enough synergies to take the deal forward.”