Jon Rubinstein's company email about acquisition 31

As a part of Palm's just-mentioned SEC filing, there's a copy of the email Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein sent out to all employees. Looks like they are going to have an all-hands-on meeting with employees to discuss the acquisition.

The letter goes over the basics: HP's resources, Palm's innovation, and a focus on keeping the pace up now and in the future - in other words, Palm's not going to go on autopilot while they wait for the acquisition to shake out. Good to see Rubinstein praising the work that Palm has already done "In short, we have delivered on our original plan," and also good to see that there's not much in the way of dark clouds in Rubinstein's message to the team:

I am very excited about the potential of this merger (and not only because I started my career there). HP recognizes the value in our platform, our IP and our people, and that is all a result of your hard work

The filing also includes 'talking points' detailing that there was "a high level of interest [...] from other serious buyers" and that "it should be business as usual at Palm" during the integration process.

Full letter after the break

Team,

Over the past two years, we have made remarkable progress transforming Palm. We returned to our innovative roots and delivered some of the best mobile experiences on the market. Today, we are taking a huge step forward in accelerating that strategy with the announcement of a merger with HP.

I am very excited about the potential of this merger (and not only because I started my career there). HP recognizes the value in our platform, our IP and our people, and that is all a result of your hard work. In a very short period of time, we amassed a world-class team, brought webOS to market with widespread acclaim, launched four new devices, and launched in eight countries. In short, we have delivered on our original plan.

HP is a world-class company which brings the extensive resources necessary to scale the Palm webOS platform. Together, Palm and HP share a history of innovation and technology leadership, and I look forward to working with them to accelerate the development and adoption of Palm webOS.

There are many decisions to be made and questions to be answered in the coming months as we turn to completing a successful integration. During this process, we must remain laser focused on our priorities––increasing sell through and customer satisfaction, and continuing to work on our innovative product roadmap.

I’m sure you’d like to hear more about this announcement, and perhaps ask some questions, so please join me in the multi-purpose room at 5:00 p.m. today for an all hands meeting. For those of you not located in Sunnyvale, we will provide a dial-in number in the meeting invitation.

One last public service announcement––as you might expect, this development may generate considerable interest from the media and shareholder community. [...]

Thanks again for all your hard work, and go Palm and HP!!

jon