<Hiring Salomon to find buyers suggests
to me that ASND is not even close to finding any buyers. If Wall Street was under the impression that the sale of several units was
imminent based on comments from ASND's management only to find that
there are not any buyers I strongly suspect that ASND's management has
done very little to improve its own credibility with Wall Street.>
Released 10/14:
Ascend is currently in negotiations to divest all non-telecom businesses of Stratus, including S2, TCAM and the Enterprise
Computer business unit, and expects to reach definitive agreements regarding these units in November 1998. Ascend is evaluating
the option of a Leveraged Buy Out (LBO) for the Enterprise Computer business unit.
''We are pleased with the progress we are making in completing the Stratus acquisition, and continue to believe that it represents a
major step forward for the convergence of voice and data networks,'' said Mory Ejabat, chief executive officer of Ascend
Communications. ''We have received considerable interest from parties wishing to acquire Stratus' non-telecom businesses, and
expect to announce the results of our negotiations in November.''
Stratus has retained Salomon Smith Barney as its financial advisor to handle the divestiture process.
Then released today:
Alameda, California-based Ascend hopes to find buyers for the divisions of Stratus, which now is a wholly owned subsidiary, by the end of the year, Kiely said. Ascend will retain a 10 percent to 20 percent stake in the computer division, he said.
I don't know about Wall Street, but they sure are confusing me.
Kent
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