From Wall Street Journal:
______________________________________________________________________
Newbridge Pact Seen As Biggest Endorsement Yet Of ATM
By Ben Dummett
TORONTO (Dow Jones)--Newbridge Networks Corp.'s (NN) stock is soaring, as investors bet the company is poised to see a surge in sales of its asynchronous transfer mode, or ATM, equipment following British Telecommunications Plc's (BTY) plans to set up a single broadband ATM core network, an analyst said.
Earlier Thursday, Newbridge said it was part of a venture with Siemens AG (G.SIE) and General Electric PLC (GNELY) to supply ATM equipment to British Telecom for the telephone company's new broadband multiservice platform.
Newbridge didn't say how much the contract was worth, but the analyst, who didn't want to be identified, said the pact is valued at about C$550 million.
"This is a big deal," the analyst said, because ATM contracts have been much smaller up until now, ranging between C$20 million and C$30 million.
The size of British Telecom's planned purchase of ATM equipment endorses the ATM networking equipment and indicates other major telephone companies could also be planning big expenditures on ATM products, the analyst said.
Newbridge officials weren't immediately available for comment because they were attending the company's annual meeting.
Newbridge's stock is currently up 7.50 at 76.10 in Toronto, on volume of 1.67 million shares.
______________________________________________________________________
Bill |
