fwiw, some commments from Louie T. via the PW conference.
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Vitesse Semi CEO Sees Buys Doubling Market Potential By '05
By Marcelo Prince
06/06/2000
Dow Jones News Service
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. (VTSS) Chief Executive Louis Tomasetta said Tuesday that the company's two recent acquisitions promised to fill out its product offerings and more than double its addressable market by 2005.
Speaking at PaineWebber Inc.'s technology conference, Tomasetta said company projections see its addressable market as $13 billion to $14 billion five years out. He said the network-processor business is a fast-growing market that has no "dominant incumbent."
In March, Vitesse, a maker of integrated circuits for high-speed communications, agreed to buy Orologic Inc. for $450 million in stock, and in April it purchased Sitera Inc. for $750 million in stock. Those deals follow last year's acquisition of XaQti for $65 million in stock.
Tomasetta said the moves will enable Vitesse to provide customers with a complete solution and put the company in a footrace with PMC-Sierra Inc. (PMCS) and others to capture that market.
He said that Intel Corp. (INTC), which had made some acquisitions in this area, "is not a significant threat now or even going forward."
Nor is Vitesse's acquisitive appetite sated. Tomasetta said the company's $720 million convertible offering, which was completed during its second quarter, is essentially a war-chest to fund potential acquisitions in Europe. However, none are being considered at the moment, he said.
Vitesse was recently trading up 3 1/8, or 4.8%, to 67 3/4 on volume of 2.8 million shares, compared with average daily volume of 4.6 million. |
