TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Hoax Web Posting Says Jabil Was Out To Buy Flextronics

ADVERTISEMENT

By RICHARD MULLINS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 2, 2008

At first glance, it looked like huge news for Jabil Circuit Inc.

Late Monday night, a news release popped up online that said the St. Petersburg electronics maker was making an unsolicited bid to take over its much larger rival Flextronics Inc.

In the world of electronics, that would be like Coca-Cola trying to buy Pepsi. The release even included an ebullient quote, purportedly from Jabil Chief Executive Officer Tim Main, about the virtues of the deal.

Here's the catch. It's not true. It's a hoax. A sophisticated and authentic-looking hoax. "It's bizarre," said Jabil spokeswoman Beth Walters.

Jabil isn't trying to buy Flextronics. It is trying to find out who would publish a hoax like that and why. Jabil has dispatched its attorneys to have the fake release removed from the site where it first appeared, PRLog.org.

That Web site purports to distribute news releases free from anyone who wants to post them. This one included a good deal of accurate information about Jabil: Its closing stock price last week, with the standard legal "safe harbor" language at the bottom and other official-looking details. Messages left with PRLog.org today were not returned.

The only visible flaw in the release was an incorrect phone number for Jabil's headquarters. Instead of listing the number in St. Petersburg, it listed a phone number for suburban Atlanta.

Still, the fake story was the buzz of Jabil's hallways at corporate headquarters in St. Petersburg this morning. Walters already sent out an internal e-mail to employees, letting them know the news was fake. If the hoax managed to grow further or cause any serious confusion in the ranks of investors and analysts, Jabil would send out its own news release, Walters said. That one would be authentic.

Jabil's stock was up 1 cent, to $6.21, in late morning trading.

Reporter Richard Mullins can be reached at (813) 259-7919 or rmullins@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT