-by Thomas Rasmussen
In VeriSign’s 3rd quarter earnings conference call last night, interim CEO Jim Bidzos detailed its divesture progress. The gist: There is none.
It was essentially a repeat of its second quarter call. Bidzos insists that it is “this” close. He reiterated that one of the three non-core businesses is close to being divested, possibly before the end of the year (our money is on Communications). Bidzos offered up the reason for the holdup: The would-be acquirer needs financing. This is yet another unfortunate example of frozen credit markets hampering M&A.