To All, Can anyone please comment on whether the news below is positive, negative or neutral for ASND? Is ASND a supplier to MCI?
Thanks in advance,
Perry
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Wednesday March 18 4:52 PM EST
MCI, Siemens in 5-Year, $2 Billion Supply Deal
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (Reuters) - MCI Communications Corp. and Siemens AG
said Wednesday they had struck a
five-year, $2.1 billion revenue-sharing pact in which the two companies
will jointly sell equipment and services to each other's
customers.
In a statement, MCI and Siemens' Business Communication Systems unit
said that the deal will provide their respective
customers with a single point of contact for procuring end-to-end
telecommunication systems.
Siemens spokeswoman Celine Hundt said financial terms of the
revenue-sharing agreement were not disclosed, including a
breakdown of the percentage that each company was entitled to receive
under the deal.
Under terms of the pact, the Siemens telecommunications equipment unit
will deliver business to MCI, while MCI will conduct
joint sales activities.
In addition to offering outbound long-distance voice services to
corporate customers, MCI will provide them with local phone,
high-speed data and Internet services, they said.
Joint products from the two companies will be available to customers
this year, the companies said.
The deal builds on an existing series of marketing partnerships between
the two over the last eight years that have generated in
excess of $1 billion to date.
The new revenue sharing agreement "is more of a legitimate effort to
work together than some fall-by-the-wayside joint venture
efforts" seen throughout the industry, David Cooperstein, an analyst for
telecom strategies at consultancy Forrester Research,
said.
Shares of MCI gained 25/32 to 49 11/16 on Nasdaq, just above its high
for the year of $49. |
