Palm makes it rain, breaks the bank

Like so many club-scene aficionados blowing their Friday paycheck in a bid to “make it rain” dollar-dollar-bills-ya’ll, it seems that Palm is burning through their cash reserves. Unlike those ghetto-rific clubbers, however, Palm doesn’t have a bottle of “Dom P” or the prospect of a romantic tryst to blame for their fiscal promiscuity.

A recent note from Morgan Keegan analyst Tavis McCourt hints at Palm spending cash like it’s going out of style. Despite have some $248 million in cash reserves, Palm has reportedly filed a request for permission to raise funds by way of taking on debt or issuing shares and other securities.

It’s estimated that Palm will see it’s bankroll dwindle to just $73 million, which represents a massive $173 million drop. Luckily, Palm has their Elevation Partners investment source to help them put their broken piggy bank back together. But, with continuing financial troubles, Palm’s ability to maintain any kind of independence on its own is becoming increasingly unlikely.

Despite the Palm Centro’s fantastic success among entry-level smartphone consumers, the company has struggled to find a strong foothold in a market crowded with attractive smartphones.

Palm is essentially betting the farm on their upcoming launch of their next-generation Palm OS successor. Once codenamed “Nova,” the new Linux-based mobile OS has taken on a new face with the announcement that ALP (Access Linux Platform) 3.0 will be shipping in the first half of 2009 in new Palm devices. If Nova fails to deliver Palm from the depths of fiscal misery that it currently finds itself deep within, Palm could be looking a third-party takeover straight in the eye.

[Via: Electronista]