here's dslprime's take on chip makers in DSL.
dslprime.com
seem's alcatel is on the top of their list as "leading supplier".
this correlates to reuters article (below).
another interesting comment dslprime makes is that gspn is
"engineer rich". it seems that att/lucent and their offspring
have always been characterized (at least among my si valley
friends) as having a lot of brain power but without proven
marketing/manufacturing (compared against a csico).
of course, this is biased.
it would have been good to get it at 28 but >42 and up is
more speculative than i like. especially since i'm finding out
that the field is very crowded.
regards-
rinv
GlobeSpan IPO clouded by competition
By Eric Wahlgren
NEW YORK, June 22 (Reuters) - GlobeSpan Inc., which develops components allowing high-speed Internet connections
through ordinary phone lines, plans to go public this week amid high demand for firms with the know-how to make access
faster.
But the developer of integrated circuits used in the so-called advanced digital subscriber line technology faces competition
from better-known players and the threat that a rival turbo-charged access technology could dominate. "The key to their
success is how quickly they can get telecommunication contracts," said Mark Plakias, director of voice and wireless at the
Kelsey Group.
Plakias said the technology that provides supercharged access to the Internet through cable TV is slightly ahead of DSL, or
high-speed data transmission through regular copper phone lines. But he said the game is still wide open.
GlobeSpan, whose chip sets installed at each end of a phone line help data travel 100 times faster than current modem
technology, plans to offer 3.25 million shares in a range of $9 to $11 a share. The company on May 28 upped the amount
to be offered in its first sale ever to the public by 250,000 shares.
The lead underwriter in the offering is BancBoston Robertson Stephens.
Earlier in the year, new telecommunications company IPOs had almost matched the strong performance of many Internet
IPOs.
High-speed digital communication services provider Covad Communications Group Inc. <COVD.O> shares nearly doubled
to $35 on its first day of trading after opening at $18 on Jan. 21.
Shares of Rhythms NetConnections Inc. <RTHM.O>, a company in the same industry, soared more than 200 percent in its
stock market debut on April 7.
The market for equipment that boosts a common phone line's ability to transmit data will increase seven-fold by 2003,
according to Lee Doyle, a vice president at research firm International Data Corp.
But Doyle said GlobeSpan will have to succeed in making its products stand out from those of a pack of bigger-name
companies, including French telecom group Alcatel <CGEP.PA>.
GlobeSpan said in its prospectus other competitors include Analog Devices Inc. <ADI.N>, Level One Communications Inc.
<LEVL.O> and Lucent Technologies Inc. <LU.N>.
Formed as a company in 1996 after the divestiture of AT&T Paradyne Corp. by Lucent, the company's 1998 revenues rose
to $31 million from $22.5 million in the previous year. In 1998 it posted a $7.8 million loss compared with a $842,000 profit
in 1997.
The company plans to use the IPO proceeds to repay some debt and for general corporate purposes.
The company said it is reliant on a few customers, including Cisco Systems Inc. <CSCO.O>, Paradyne Corp. and NEC
Corp. <6701.T>, and it does not make the chip sets it develops. |
