- Bridge Growth Partners Adds Tech Industry Leaders Raghu Ramanathan and Zane Rowe
May 12, 2026
Ragunath (Raghu) Ramanathan joins as Executive Partner, bringing more than 25 years of experience driving growth at major technology companies including Thomson Reuters and SAP Zane Rowe joins as Senior Advisor, with significant C-suite experience scaling some of the world's leading technology companies including VMware, Workday, and EMC
NEW YORK, May 12, 2026--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Bridge Growth Partners, LLC, a leading technology investment firm, today announced the addition of Ragunath (Raghu) Ramanathan as Executive Partner and Zane Rowe as Senior Advisor.
Both executives bring extensive experience scaling global technology businesses and longstanding relationships with the Bridge Growth team. Mr. Ramanathan previously served on the board of prior Bridge Growth company Syniti, a global leader in enterprise data management acquired by Capgemini in December 2024, and currently serves on the board of Solace, a leading provider of event-driven data movement technology. Mr. Rowe previously worked closely with Bridge Growth Chairman Joe Tucci and Senior Principal Bill Teuber during their time together at EMC.
Mr. Ramanathan and Mr. Rowe join Bridge Growth’s network of Executive Partners and Senior Advisors, which includes former senior leaders from IBM, Citigroup, SAP, Dell, Cognos, Vodafone, VMware, and Goldman Sachs, among others.
"We are entering a transformative period in enterprise technology driven by AI and automation," said Alok Singh, CEO of Bridge Growth Partners. "We believe this market will provide significant opportunities ahead to deploy capital in a more rational market, and having the right industry resources and experience will be critical to investing effectively in this environment. Our integrated team of Executive Partners and Senior Advisors gives us the unique ability to assess and partner with management teams as they execute on their growth strategies. Raghu’s experience as CRO of SAP Business Technology Platform and more recently as President of the Legal Professionals business at Thomson Reuters, and Zane’s experience most recently as CFO of Workday, further strengthens our integrated team’s deep investment and operational capabilities and continues our history of partnering with exceptional executives."
"Bridge Growth has a distinctive approach – patient, operationally engaged, and genuinely focused on building great businesses," said Raghu Ramanathan, Executive Partner at Bridge Growth Partners. "Through my work with Syniti and Solace, I have seen firsthand how the team partners with management to drive long-term value creation, and I look forward to helping them execute their investment strategies."
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"Bridge Growth has built an impressive track record partnering with technology companies to accelerate growth and strategic value creation," said Zane Rowe, Senior Advisor at Bridge Growth Partners. "The firm's operational depth and collaborative approach differentiates it in the private equity market, and I look forward to working with the team."
About Raghu Ramanathan
Ragunath (Raghu) Ramanathan joined Bridge Growth Partners as an Executive Partner in 2026, having previously served on the board of Syniti, a global leader in enterprise data management which was sold to Capgemini in December 2024, and currently serving on the board of Solace, a BGP company. Solace is a leading provider of event-driven data movement technology to large global enterprises. He brings more than 25 years of experience as a recognized business leader at the intersection of technology, commercial growth, and customer success.
Ramanathan currently serves as President of the Legal Professionals business at Thomson Reuters, a role he assumed in February 2024. Prior to that, he was Chief Revenue Officer of SAP Business Technology Platform, where he drove business growth and customer success across data and analytics, artificial intelligence, application development, automation, and integration solutions. Earlier in his career, he held roles at SAP, Barclays Group, Bluesoft Inc., and McKinsey & Company. He holds a B.S. in Engineering from the Coimbatore Institute of Technology in India and an M.B.A. from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad.
About Zane Rowe
Zane Rowe joined Bridge Growth Partners as a Senior Advisor in 2026, bringing decades of experience as a finance and operating leader across some of the world's leading technology companies.
Rowe currently serves as Chief Financial Officer at Workday, where he is responsible for leading accounting, business finance, investor relations, tax, and treasury functions, and advises on business strategy and product development. Prior to Workday, he was Executive Vice President and CFO of VMware, where he oversaw finance and accounting functions and led the strategy and development team, as well as served as interim CEO from February to May 2021. Earlier in his career, he served as CFO at EMC, led North America Sales for Apple, and served as CFO at United Airlines.
Rowe currently serves on the board of directors of eBay, Inc. and as a member of the board of trustees of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He has previously served on the board of directors of Sabre. He holds a B.S. from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and an M.B.A. from San Diego State University.
About Bridge Growth Partners
Bridge Growth Partners, LLC is a private equity firm that targets investments in the technology and technology-enabled services sectors. Bridge Growth Partners brings together in one team premier investment, financial, strategic and operating business building talent. The firm is committed to relationship-based investing, with a focus on supporting growth, operational excellence and world-class governance at its portfolio companies to create value for investors. For more information about Bridge Growth Partners, please visit https://www.bridgegrowthpartners.com/.
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- Goldman Sachs resets Broadcom stock forecast
May 10, 2026
Broadcom (AVGO) is a semiconductor giant with a vast product portfolio spanning wired infrastructure, wireless communications, enterprise storage, and industrial end markets.
The company positioned itself as a major player in enterprise infrastructure software following its 2023 acquisition of VMware.
The stock has gained 22.64% in the past month, according to Yahoo Finance at the time of writing, Saturday morning, May 9. Meanwhile, the SPDR S&P 500 index (SPY) is up 9.11% in the same period.
Broadcom’s rally started with the company’s extension of its partnerships with Google and Anthropic on April 6.
Another key move was Broadcom's extension of its partnership with Meta (META). Broadcom will deliver technology supporting Meta Training and Inference Accelerator (MTIA) chips, with plans to extend through 2029.
Intel’s earnings boosted confidence in the semiconductor sector.
Broadcom’s latest announcement also pushed the stock higher.Of the total Q1 revenue of $19.3 billion, $12.5 billion came from semiconductor solutions .Shutterstock
Broadcom unveils VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1
On May 05, Broadcom unveiled VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF) 9.1, an infrastructure platform for production AI workloads.
According to the company, VCF 9.1 enables enterprises to deploy inference and agentic AI applications at significantly lower cost, with enhanced security and the freedom to choose GPU and CPU hardware.
Broadcom says VMware Cloud Foundation 9.1 benefits include:
Up to 40% reduction in server costs for clusters running a mix of AI and non-AI workloads. Up to 39% lower storage total cost of ownership through enhanced compression and deduplication for AI data pipelines. Up to 46% reduction in Kubernetes operational costs for running AI workloads at scale. 4x faster cluster upgrades and 2x increased fleet capacity to rapidly scale AI infrastructure. All statistics are based on internal Broadcom estimates or test results and are subject to change.
It is unsurprising that this announcement caused the stock to move up. We can get a clearer picture by looking at Broadcom’s latest Form 10-Q. It shows that revenue can be divided into two segments: semiconductor solutions and infrastructure software.
Of the total revenue of $19.3 billion, $12.5 billion came from semiconductor solutions and $6.8 billion came from infrastructure software. However, if we take a closer look, we’ll see that the cost of revenue, research and development, and other expenses are much higher for the semiconductor segment.
More Tech Stocks:
BofA resets Google stock price target after earnings smasher Bank of America resets Microsoft stock forecast after earnings Goldman Sachs resets Nvidia stock forecast ahead of earnings
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This is best shown through operating income, which was $5.3 billion for infrastructure software and $7.5 billion for semiconductor solutions. Or to put it plainly, Broadcom strengthened its most profitable revenue segment with the latest release.
In a research note shared with me, Goldman Sachs analyst James Schneider and his team provided their opinion on what they call the Agentic Economy. As Broadcom plays a big role in the AI space, they also updated their opinion on Broadcom stock.
Goldman Sachs says AI agents can lift global token consumption
The team believes Agentic AI could shift token consumption. They estimate that consumer AI agents could increase global consumer token consumption 12 times by 2030.
They estimate approximately 23 billion AI queries per day by 2030, up from approximately 5 billion in 2025. They see that up to 30% of these queries will be directed to agents across search, shopping, travel, email, and other personal productivity functions.
Analysts estimate that enterprise AI agents will increase global enterprise token consumption by 24 times by 2030 and by 55 times by 2040. Schneider wrote: “Enterprise adoption of agentic AI is still early: while surveys suggest 70–90% of enterprises are experimenting, less than one-quarter are scaling agents.”
Related: Goldman Sachs resets Nvidia stock forecast ahead of earnings
The team said they see a clearly positive impact on semiconductor companies from ongoing capital expenditures by hyperscalers and LLM providers. Analysts believe that falling token costs will make token-intensive use cases economically viable, thereby increasing the addressable compute market.
The team believes that more hyperscalers and LLM model providers will turn to Broadcom to deliver cost-optimized chip solutions tailored to their specific workloads.
Schneider reiterated a buy rating for Broadcom stock and the target price of $480, based on a 30 multiple of his normalized EPS estimate of $16.
Analysts noted key downside risks for Broadcom:
Slowdown in AI infrastructure spending, Share loss in the custom compute franchise, Persistent inventory digestion in non-AI. Increased competition in VMware.
Related: Goldman Sachs sets jaw-dropping AMD stock price target after earnings
This story was originally published by TheStreet on May 10, 2026, where it first appeared in the Investing section. Add TheStreet as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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- evoila U.S. and Carahsoft Partner to Deliver VMware by Broadcom Consulting, Training and Managed Services to the Public Sector
May 7, 2026 · globenewswire.com
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. and RESTON, Va., May 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- evoila U.S. and Carahsoft Technology Corp., The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider®, today announced a strategic partnership. Under the agreement, Carahsoft will serve as evoila's Master Government Aggregator®, making evoila's VMware by Broadcom consulting, training, development and managed services available to the Public Sector through Carahsoft's reseller partners and National Association of State Procurement Officials (NASPO) ValuePoint, OMNIA Partners and E&I Cooperative Services Contract contracts.
- EVOILA U.S. AND CARAHSOFT PARTNER TO DELIVER VMWARE BY BROADCOM CONSULTING, TRAINING AND MANAGED SERVICES TO THE PUBLIC SECTOR
May 7, 2026
COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. AND RESTON, VA., MAY 07, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EVOILA U.S. AND CARAHSOFT TECHNOLOGY CORP., THE TRUSTED GOVERNMENT IT SOLUTIONS PROVIDER®, TODAY ANNOUNCED A STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP. UNDER THE AGREEMENT, CARAHSOFT WILL SERVE AS EVOILA'S MASTER GOVERNMENT AGGREGATOR®, MAKING EVOILA'S VMWARE BY BROADCOM CONSULTING, TRAINING, DEVELOPMENT AND MANAGED SERVICES AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC SECTOR THROUGH CARAHSOFT'S RESELLER PARTNERS AND NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF STATE PROCUREMENT OFFICIALS (NASPO) VALUEPOINT, OMNIA PARTNERS AND E&I COOPERATIVE SERVICES CONTRACT CONTRACTS.
- Carbon Black Research Report 2026: $30.85 Bn Market Opportunities, Trends, Competitive Landscape, Strategies, and Forecasts, 2020-2025, 2025-2030F, 2035F
Apr 27, 2026
Dublin, April 27, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Carbon Black Market Report 2026" has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.
The global carbon black market is slated to experience robust growth over the coming years, expanding from $20.42 billion in 2025 to $22.26 billion in 2026, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9%. The historical growth is largely due to the upsurge in global tire production, burgeoning rubber goods industries, and increased demand from printing inks and coatings. Furthermore, the availability of petroleum-based feedstocks and industrial expansion in emerging economies have been critical drivers.
Projections for the market's future are equally promising, with expectations set for a rise to $30.85 billion in 2030, at a CAGR of 8.5%. This anticipated growth will stem from increasing demand in electric vehicle tire manufacturing, rising adoption of carbon black in conductive plastics, and the expansion of sustainable technologies. In addition, there is a growing emphasis on advanced coatings and investments in emission-reduction technologies.
The automotive industry's development is a pivotal factor propelling the carbon black market. Known for contributing to tire strength and durability, carbon black's applications in vehicle interiors, sidewalls, and treads underline its importance. For instance, the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders reported a significant 17% rise in the UK's vehicle production in 2023, reinforcing the automotive sector's impact on the market.
Prominent companies are capitalizing on the demand for innovation by developing advanced products, such as pelletized reinforcing carbon black, enhancing safety and competitive leverage. Notably, in August 2023, VMware enhanced its Carbon Black platform with Cloud Native Detection and Response capabilities, focusing on improved threat detection and protection within cloud-native infrastructures.
Significant corporate movements also influence the market dynamics, exemplified by Broadcom Inc.'s acquisition of VMware in November 2023. This acquisition aims to bolster Broadcom's enterprise software capabilities, enhancing its cloud and virtualization solutions.
Asia-Pacific led the market in 2025, with North America projected to be the fastest-growing region through the forecast period. Key regions include Asia-Pacific, Western and Eastern Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East, and Africa, with influential market participants from countries such as China, Germany, India, Japan, and the USA.
Major companies within this sector include BASF SE, Cabot Corporation, Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings, and others, continuously pushing the frontiers in technology and market reach.
Key Attributes:
Report AttributeDetailsNo. of Pages250Forecast Period2026 - 2030Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2026$22.26 BillionForecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030$30.85 BillionCompound Annual Growth Rate8.5%Regions CoveredGlobal
Key Technologies & Future Trends
Growing Demand for High-Performance Tire ReinforcementRising Use of Specialty Carbon Blacks in PlasticsExpansion of Conductive Carbon ApplicationsIncreasing Focus on Low-Emission Manufacturing ProcessesEnhanced Quality Control in Carbon Black Production
Report Scope:
Markets Covered:
By Type: Furnace Black, Channel Black, Thermal Black, Acetylene BlackBy Grade: Standard Grade, Specialty GradeBy Application: Tire, Non-Tire Rubber, Inks and Coating, Plastic, Other Applications
Subsegments:
Furnace Black: Standard, High-PerformanceChannel Black: High-Structure, Low-StructureThermal Black: High-Temperature, Low-TemperatureAcetylene Black: Powdered, Granular
Companies Featured
BASF SEMitsubishi Chemical HoldingsChina Synthetic Rubber Corp.International CSRC Investment Holdings Co. LtdNNPC LimitedJiangxi Black Cat Carbon Black Co. LtdCabot CorporationTokai Carbon Co. Ltd.Orion Engineered Carbons SAKoppers Inc.BKT CarbonADNOC GroupPhillips Carbon Black LimitedAsahi Carbon Co. Ltd.Longxing Chemical Stock Co. LtdHimadri Speciality Chemical LimitedThai Carbon Black Public Company LimitedBirla Carbon Public Company LimitedPCBL LimitedContinental Carbon CompanyPyrolyx AGSid Richardson Carbon & Energy Co.Epsilon Carbon Private LimitedOmsk Carbon GroupBlack Bear CarbonMonolith Inc.
For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/uaf5kx
About ResearchAndMarkets.com
ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.
Attachment
Carbon Black Market
- Global Embedded Hypervisor Market to Reach USD 89.56 Billion by 2035, Driven by Automotive, 5G & AI Adoption Across USA, Europe & Asia-Pacific - Key Players: Wind River, BlackBerry QNX, Siemens, Thales & Green Hills
Mar 27, 2026
Global embedded hypervisor market projected to grow at a 12% CAGR, unlocking secure, real-time, multi-OS performance across automotive, aerospace, industrial automation, and telecom ecosystems
NEWARK, Del., March 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a latest market analysis by Future Market Insights, the global embedded hypervisor market is entering a decisive growth phase, expected to expand from USD 25.25 billion in 2025 to USD 89.56 billion by 2035, reflecting a strong 12% CAGR. This surge is being fueled by the rapid convergence of AI-driven systems, edge computing, autonomous mobility, and 5G infrastructure, where real-time performance, system isolation, and cybersecurity are no longer optional—they are mission-critical.FMI Logo
Embedded hypervisors, once niche, are now foundational software layers enabling multiple operating systems to run securely on a single hardware platform. Their role is becoming central to industries where latency, safety, and reliability define competitive advantage.
Quick Stats: Embedded Hypervisor Market
Market Size (2025): USD 25.25 Billion Forecast Value (2035): USD 89.56 Billion CAGR (2025–2035): 12% Top Growth Sector: Automotive & Software-Defined Vehicles Largest Segment (2025): Managed Services – 53.5% share RTOS Segment Share: 36.2% Key Growth Drivers: AI integration, 5G, edge computing, autonomous systems Top Investment Regions: USA (9.8%), South Korea (9.9%), Japan (9.7%) Major Deal: Broadcom Inc. acquisition of VMware (~USD 60–62B) High-Growth Applications: ADAS, avionics, industrial IoT, smart manufacturing
For Details Deep insights, Please Request A sample report for Free: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-2190
Why This Market Matters Now
For decision-makers across automotive, aerospace, telecom, and industrial sectors, embedded hypervisors are quickly becoming a strategic investment priority. As systems grow more complex, the ability to consolidate workloads, reduce hardware costs, and ensure deterministic performance is reshaping how next-generation platforms are built.
From software-defined vehicles to AI-powered factories and virtualized 5G networks, hypervisors are enabling:
Real-time workload isolation for safety-critical systems Secure multi-OS environments on shared hardware Reduced system complexity and cost optimization Scalable architectures for edge and cloud integration
Automotive Industry Leading Adoption
The automotive sector is at the forefront of this transformation. As vehicles evolve into software-defined platforms, embedded hypervisors are enabling seamless integration of:
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Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) Autonomous driving modules Infotainment and digital cockpit systems
Leading OEMs such as Volkswagen, BMW, and General Motors are actively partnering with hypervisor providers like BlackBerry QNX, Wind River, and Green Hills Software to accelerate innovation while ensuring safety and compliance.
This shift reflects a broader trend: vehicle electronics and software are now core differentiators, driving double-digit investment growth in embedded virtualization.
Industrial Automation & Industry 4.0 Acceleration
In smart manufacturing environments, embedded hypervisors are enabling real-time analytics, secure edge computing, and integrated control systems. With Industry 4.0 initiatives scaling globally, manufacturers are prioritizing:
Operational flexibility Predictive maintenance using AI Cost-efficient multi-system integration
Hypervisors are becoming essential to run mixed-critical workloads—from robotics control to analytics—on unified platforms without compromising performance.
Aerospace, Defense & Safety-Critical Systems
In aerospace and defense, embedded hypervisors support avionics, mission systems, and secure defense platforms where failure is not an option. Certifications from regulatory bodies like FAA and EASA are reinforcing trust in hypervisor-based architectures.
These systems ensure:
Strict isolation between critical and non-critical functions Deterministic real-time performance Compliance with stringent safety standards
Telecom & 5G: Virtualization at Scale
Telecommunications providers are leveraging embedded hypervisors to power network function virtualization (NFV) and 5G infrastructure.
Companies such as Ericsson, Nokia, and Huawei are deploying hypervisor-based solutions to deliver:
Ultra-low latency network performance Scalable, software-defined infrastructure Secure and efficient network management
Key Investment Segments Driving Growth
Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS) – 36.2% Market Share (2025)
RTOS integration is critical for applications requiring deterministic performance, including autonomous vehicles, defense systems, and avionics.
Industry leaders like Garmin Ltd., Thales Group, and Honeywell Aerospace are advancing real-time embedded solutions to enhance safety and responsiveness.
Managed Services – 53.5% Market Share (2025)
Managed services are dominating due to the shift toward cloud-based, AI-driven navigation and analytics platforms.
Providers such as HERE Technologies, TomTom, and Esri are enabling real-time data processing for logistics, smart cities, and defense.
Strategic Deals Reshaping the Market
Recent consolidation highlights the strategic importance of virtualization technologies:
Broadcom Inc. acquired VMware for approximately USD 60–62 billion, strengthening its virtualization portfolio KKR & Co. Inc. acquired VMware's End-User Computing division for USD 3.8–4.2 billion, signaling strong investor confidence
These moves underscore a clear trend: virtualization is becoming a core pillar of enterprise and embedded computing strategies.
Future Outlook: AI-Native, Quantum-Secure Hypervisors
Looking ahead to 2035, the market will be shaped by next-generation innovations:
AI-driven workload optimization and self-healing systems Quantum-resistant security frameworks Blockchain-based auditability for critical systems Ultra-low-latency architectures for autonomous and edge environments
Hypervisors will evolve into intelligent orchestration layers, capable of dynamically managing resources, predicting failures, and securing distributed systems in real time.
Risk Landscape:
Despite strong growth, several risks require attention:
Cybersecurity vulnerabilities in multi-VM environments Latency and performance constraints in real-time applications Strict regulatory compliance (ISO 26262, DO-178C, IEC standards) Rapid technology evolution, risking obsolescence for slow adopters
Organizations that invest in AI-driven security, lightweight architectures, and compliance-ready platforms will be better positioned to lead.
Competitive Landscape: Innovation Intensifies
The market is highly competitive, led by:
Wind River Systems SYSGO Green Hills Software BlackBerry QNX Siemens
Emerging players and open-source innovators are also gaining traction with lightweight, ARM-optimized, and security-focused hypervisor solutions.
Hypervisor Market: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/hypervisor-market
Focus on enterprise, cloud, and data center virtualization Complements embedded hypervisor with broader IT infrastructure insights Strong growth driven by IoT, enterprise cloud, and virtualization demand
Automotive Software & Electronics Market: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/automotive-software-market
Covers ADAS, ECU virtualization, and software-defined vehicles Directly aligned with hypervisor adoption in next-gen automotive platforms Strong OEM investment trends and digital cockpit evolution
For a customized report, please provide your requirements or submit a request to speak with an analyst:
https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/customization-available/rep-gb-2190
About Future Market Insights (FMI)
Future Market Insights (FMI) is a leading provider of market intelligence and consulting services, serving clients in over 150 countries. Headquartered in Delaware, USA, with a global delivery center in India and offices in the UK and UAE, FMI delivers actionable insights to businesses across industries including automotive, technology, consumer products, manufacturing, energy, and chemicals.
An ESOMAR-certified research organization, FMI provides custom and syndicated market reports and consulting services, supporting both Fortune 1,000 companies and SMEs. Its team of 300+ experienced analysts ensures credible, data-driven insights to help clients navigate global markets and identify growth opportunities.
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- Cloud industry group calls for EU interim measure against Broadcom over VMware
Mar 19, 2026
By Foo Yun Chee
BRUSSELS, March 19 (Reuters) - Lobbying group Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe on Thursday urged EU antitrust regulators to temporarily stop Broadcom from ending its VMware Cloud Service Provider programme in Europe, ramping up its fight against the U.S. tech company.
CISPE, which has nearly 50 members across Europe and counts Microsoft and Amazon as associate members, sued the European Commission last year for approving Broadcom's acquisition of VMware in 2023, saying the EU competition watchdog had failed to examine the deal properly.
It took its latest grievance about Broadcom to the Commission after the company revamped its VMware cloud service provider ecosystem late last year and asked for an interim measure.
"In January 2026 Broadcom signalled the termination of its VMware Cloud Service Provider program in Europe. This unilateral decision removed all but a tiny minority of hand selected partners and excluded most European CSPs from selling VMware products," CISPE said in a statement.
"Both cloud providers and their customers - are being irreparably damaged by Broadcom's unfair actions," CISPE Secretary General Francisco Mingorance said.
The Commission and Broadcom did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment.
CISPE said an EU interim measure should immediately suspend Broadcom's termination of its VCSP partner programme, allow them to be readmitted to the programme and include protection measures against retaliation from Broadcom.
(Reporting by Foo Yun CheeEditing by Rod Nickel)
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- Lwart Environmental Solutions Expands Long-Standing Relationship with Rimini Street, Consolidating Support for VMware and SAP to Regain Control of Licensing and Roadmap Decisions
Mar 17, 2026 · businesswire.com
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rimini Street, Inc. (Nasdaq: RMNI), the Software Support and Agentic AI ERP Company™, and the leading third-party support provider for Oracle, SAP and VMware software, today announced Lwart Environmental Solutions, one of the world's leading oil re-refineries and industrial sustainability organizations, has expanded its long-time partnership with Rimini Street. By switching to Rimini Street for SAP and VMware support, Lwart has taken direct control of its software li.
- LWART ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS EXPANDS LONG-STANDING RELATIONSHIP WITH RIMINI STREET, CONSOLIDATING SUPPORT FOR VMWARE AND SAP TO REGAIN CONTROL OF LICENSING AND ROADMAP DECISIONS
Mar 17, 2026
LAS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--RIMINI STREET, INC. (NASDAQ: RMNI), THE SOFTWARE SUPPORT AND AGENTIC AI ERP COMPANY™, AND THE LEADING THIRD-PARTY SUPPORT PROVIDER FOR ORACLE, SAP AND VMWARE SOFTWARE, TODAY ANNOUNCED LWART ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS, ONE OF THE WORLD'S LEADING OIL RE-REFINERIES AND INDUSTRIAL SUSTAINABILITY ORGANIZATIONS, HAS EXPANDED ITS LONG-TIME PARTNERSHIP WITH RIMINI STREET. BY SWITCHING TO RIMINI STREET FOR SAP AND VMWARE SUPPORT, LWART HAS TAKEN DIRECT CONTROL OF ITS SOFTWARE LI.
- Time on his side: Michael Dell the real business icon as Icahn the activist recedes from view
Mar 5, 2026
“Time will tell.” The vacuous cliché is a common if pointlessly used idiom of journalists and business executives, traced back to the Greek playwright Euripides, who is usually translated as having said, “Time will explain it all.” However, Michael Dell could have confidentially chanted Mick Jagger’s Rolling Stones anthem “Time is On My Side!”
Indeed, it has now been well over a decade ago, in the summer of 2013, when the battle lines were drawn in a boardroom showdown which, in retrospect, pitted true entrepreneurial vision against the quintessential activist hustle. On one side stood Dell, fighting to take his eponymous company private and rebuild it away from the merciless glare of quarterly earnings calls. On the other stood famed activist raider Carl Icahn, who aggressively peddled a proposal amounting to purely destructive financial engineering at the cost of the company — a scheme involving stock buybacks, warrants for future shares, and ruthless plans to carve up Dell’s creation for quick, extractive cash.
That saga was documented extensively in Dell’s book, Play Nice But Win: A CEO’s Journal From Founder to Leader. Much of the book mapped out the longer-term arc of reinvention, transforming the business from a PC manufacturer into a diversified technology leader, including the massive acquisition of EMC. The attack from Icahn, however, provided some of the book’s most compelling short-term drama. Dell detailed Icahn’s aggressive media campaigns and lawsuits, labeled the board a “dictatorship” and was yet amazed in a face-to-face meeting with Icahn, that he had no actual operational plan for the company.
There is no need to relitigate the blow-by-blow of that titanic fight, but with the passage of time, it has become clear that it was not only a seminal episode in business history; it marked the beginning of the end for old-fashioned activist investors and corporate raiders like Icahn, who had struck fear into the hearts of CEOs everywhere until Dell revealed the emperor had no clothes.
The divergent paths of the two since that epic struggle could not be more striking. Michael Dell has orchestrated one of the most staggering corporate triumphs of our time, creating value that soared from $24 billion to over $100 billion in broad impact, driving technological breakthroughs for his shareholders and the nation. Meanwhile, Icahn appears to be circling the drain.
To understand the sheer magnitude of Dell’s victory, one must look at the sophisticated capital allocation that followed the 2013 take-private. While Icahn wanted to strip the company for parts, Dell and his private equity partners went on the offensive. In 2016, Dell executed the $67 billion acquisition of EMC, the largest technology buyout in history. Rather than fatally fracturing his balance sheet to fund the mega-deal, Dell utilized a masterful piece of financial structuring, issuing a tracking stock (DVMT) tied to EMC’s economic interest in VMware.
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This allowed Dell to retain operational control of the crown jewel of virtualization and cloud infrastructure without immediately absorbing the massive cash cost of buying VMware outright. By late 2018, Dell absorbed the tracking stock in a $21.7 billion cash-and-stock swap to simplify its capital structure and return to the public markets. He followed this with the brilliant 2021 tax-free spin-off of VMware, generating an $11.5 billion special dividend to aggressively deleverage Dell’s balance sheet. This wasn’t just corporate survival; it was a textbook lesson in creative, savvy capital allocation in building, practically from scratch, an integrated behemoth, squarely defeating the short-term arbitrage playbook favored by activists like Icahn.
The quantitative divergence in total return between the two men’s equity vehicles since that 2018 relisting is staggering.
Dell returned to the public markets in late December 2018, debuting at $46 per share. Fast forward to today, trading at $153.55, Dell has delivered a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.1% on a pure price-return basis over the past 7.25 years—a figure that surges even higher when accounting for the total return of the monumental VMware spin-off and regular cash dividends, which puts the CAGR closer to 30%.
Conversely, Icahn Enterprises (IEP) has been the picture of catastrophic shareholder value destruction since slinking away from the Dell episode in defeat. From trading near $68 a share in October 2018, IEP has suffered a brutal, unrelenting collapse down to a dismal $8.11. That represents a value-evaporating negative CAGR of -25.6%. Meanwhile, Icahn Enterprises’ annual reports, where earnings are broken down by segment, reveal that the investment division has generated significant losses almost every year over the last decade plus.
We thought Icahn had hit the bottom years ago, but we had no idea how much further he had to fall. Carl Icahn is known to do some good things in his personal life, like saving dogs. But looking at his cratering metrics, one has to wonder if his investment portfolio is simply filled with dogs nowadays. He seems to have a warm spot for them.
Dell’s fundamental momentum continues to compound. Following a breathtaking recent quarter, Dell reported a soaring $33.38 billion in revenue, handily topping its $31.73 billion forecast. It delivered a massive earnings beat of $3.89 per share, crushing the $3.53-per-share expectations. Anchored by these achievements, including the doubling of AI server revenues to an expected $50 billion, Dell’s company market value surged by an astonishing 22%. This momentum was even punctuated by a warm shoutout to Michael and his wife Susan at the State of the Union regarding the “Trump Accounts lift off”.
This divergence is the ultimate referendum on the activist versus the builder, and Icahn has noticeably lowered his public profile as his track record has unraveled. But that divergence marked something even bigger than Icahn himself: it made it clear that swashbuckling corporate raiders and high-flying activist investors, simply put, are no longer the force they used to be, with a country of builders and doers triumphing over short-term, value destructive profiteering.
Contrary to Icahn’s short-term activism, Michael Dell’s triumphs make the ultimate statement for investing in the long term. Dell is constantly on the frontier of technology, perpetually reinventing his enterprise. Yet, he is famously not a self-promoter. His watchword has always been that a company is not a religion; it has to change and must never be worshipped merely for its past. He is the perfect model of “substance over sizzle.” We live in an era of vaporware and breathless cheerleading, where technology hucksters often have no idea what they are talking about. Dell stands in stark contrast—a quiet, relentless executioner who believes the underlying substance of the technology should sell itself.
This philosophy has allowed Dell to build the most integrated information technology firm in the U.S. and the world. Look at the other great legacy companies we once admired, such as the fractured Hewlett-Packard, with HPE and HP creating something like 15 different spin-outs and fragmented entities. Dell, however, kept it all integrated—devices, software, systems, networks, and cloud infrastructure seamlessly working together.
To truly appreciate Michael Dell’s survival and dominance, one must walk through the graveyard of early computer and device makers that were once considered his peers. Where are they now? Compaq is gone. Gateway is a relic. Packard Bell, Control Data, Data General, Prime Computer, and Sun Microsystems have all been swallowed up or vanished entirely. The pioneers like the Altair 880, Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems (MITS), and Tandy Radio Shack’s TRS-80 (affectionately derided as the “Trash-80”), belong in museums.
Dell didn’t just survive this brutal culling; he thrived, and he didn’t do it by carving up his company to appease the fleeting demands of corporate raiders. He did it by focusing on building for the future, with an immutable focus on building long-term value, ignoring the gaseous distractions of the moment, and steadfastly refusing to treat his own past as a religion with no sacred cows. No wonder fellow entrepreneurial builders regularly point to Dell as their role model, including fellow tech superstar Marc Benioff, founder and CEO of Salesforce, who credited Dell as an inspiration during a Yale Legend in Leadership Award ceremony that we hosted several years ago.
As Helen Keller famously reminded us, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” As Icahn’s empire shrinks and his stock plummets, Dell’s integrated empire is powering the next generation of artificial intelligence and global infrastructure. The contrast between a founder with long-term vision, on the one hand, and short-term activist value destruction, on the other, could not be clearer, and serves as a defining saga in business history for what really matters — and the turning point where the battle lines were drawn. In his own understated, non-self-promotional humble style, Michael Dell has proven Jonathan Swift’s advice that “vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others.” Dell matches that vision with equally quiet but simply flawless execution.
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