RESEARCH ALERT- AOL-Time deal good for suppliers
CHICAGO, Jan 12 (Reuters) - ABN AMRO analyst Kenneth Leon said Wednesday in a research note that the mega-merger between Internet service provider America Online Inc. (NYSE:AOL - news) and media company Time Warner Inc. (NYSE:TWX - news) will benefit telecommunications equipment suppliers.
-- Leon said the merger opportunity is best for firms that are directly tied to Time Warner Cable as infrastructure, digital set-top box or modem suppliers.
-- He said the biggest beneficiary should be Scientific-Atlanta Inc. (NYSE:SFA - news), Time Warner's preferred supplier for infrastructure and digital set-tops.
-- He said ADC Telecommunications Inc. (NasdaqNM:ADCT - news), Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT - news), and Tellabs Inc. (NasdaqNM:TLAB - news) should also benefit from the merger.
-- He said other potential beneficiaries of the merger include Lucent Technologies Inc.(NYSE:LU - news), Arris, a joint venture of ANTEC Corp. (NasdaqNM:ANTC - news) and Nortel Networks Corp. (Toronto:NT.TO - news), Concurrent Computer Corp.(NasdaqNM:CCUR - news), Harmonic Inc. (NasdaqNM:HLIT - news), Liberate Technologies Inc. (NasdaqNM:LBRT - news), OpenTV Corp. (NasdaqNM:OPTV - news), and Redback Networks Inc. (NasdaqNM:RBAK - news).
-- Leon said the AOL-Time Warner merger will expand broadband distribution channels for online services and entertainment programming content. ''All cable equipment areas related to network upgrades should benefit from this merger, but we see the most immediate spending cycle in broadband infrastructure,'' he said.
-- Leon said the merger would accelerate the build out of broadband connectivity to small business and residential users, allowing content and video services to flourish.
-- He said cable operators, data competitive local exchange carriers, and ISPs would respond to the merger with faster rollout plans for building or upgrading their networks, which would accelerate capital spending for cable infrastructure and customer devices.
biz.yahoo.com |
