HTC backs away from Palm bid

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HTC appears to have decided not to place a bid to buy out struggling mobile manufacturer Palm.

It was thought the makers of the Legend and Desire handsets would be one of the most likely to place a bid after a number of Asian companies seemed to take interest.

However, a source close to the people involved told Reuters today: “There just weren't enough synergies to take the deal forward."

Palm has faced increasing difficulties over the past year with launches of what was meant to be its “iPhone killer” handsets – the Palm Pre and Palm Pixi – facing delays in launching, leading to knockbacks in popularity, and more importantly, sales.

The company is rumoured to be actively seeking bids following its most recent results.

However, the chief executive of Palm has come out fighting, claiming the company can go on without help from its competitors.

Claiming he was being "bullish," Jon Rubinstein told the Financial Times: “I believe Palm can survive as an independent company. We have a plan that gets us to profitability.”

Yet he still couldn't deny the temptation an offer for the company would bring.

"If someone comes to the board with a reasonable offer of course it’s something we have to consider," he added.

Rubinstein concluded with the promise of new releases from Palm that were already in the "pipeline".

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