Industry Wrapups
From the January 18, 2002 print edition
Capital & Finance
Corvis CFO could bring more to table than meets eye
Eric Winig
Corvis has a new CFO. And there could be more to it than that.
The optical networking company, based in Columbia, recently named Lynn Anderson to the post. Anderson, formerly CFO of the Optical Capital Group, succeeds Anne Stuart, who left to take an executive position with a Maryland-based biotech company.
Prior to his time at OCG, Anderson served in several executive positions for General Electric and its finance arm, GE Capital. He spent three years as CFO of GE Capital Technology Management Services, and also served as CFO of GE Capital's Indonesian unit. Industry observers say such a background indicates Anderson probably is being hired to do some type of financial deal.
"If you bring in a guy from GE Capital, something's going to happen," says Don Lynch, CEO of Lynch Associates, a telecom consulting firm based in Fairfax. "He's a finance guy, not an operations guy."
Lynch says Corvis and Anderson could be planning any number of things, from a merger or acquisition to another round of fund-raising.
Corvis (http://www.corvis.com) has been the subject of speculation for a while, with some betting the firm will be acquired for its technology and cash hoard. The company's technology is considered cutting-edge, and Corvis had $715 million on its books -- versus less than $55 million in debt -- at the end of September.
Corvis officials could not be reached. In a statement announcing the appointment, Corvis president and CEO David Huber praised Anderson's "in-depth knowledge of international finance, strategic alliances, and the communications industry."
Investors, however, did not exactly welcome Anderson's appointment with open arms. The company's stock (Nasdaq: CORV) fell nearly 10 percent -- to $2.75 a share -- the day of the announcement. |
