I took this off the cnbc web site
<<ÿTHE CNBC REPORT came after a day in which shares of Ascend jumped on rumors of a possible takeover. Shares of the networking company, which opened at 23 3/4, jumped to a high of 28 1/4 before settling back slightly by the close of trading. Traders said rumors were swirling that Lucent or Northern Telecom Ltd. were possible buyers.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿLucent, a maker of telephone company switches and other networking equipment, declined to comment, saying it does not comment on market rumors or speculation as a company policy. A Lucent spokesman, however, pointed out that Lucent has already announced an acquisition in the data networking arena - privately held Livingston Enterprises Inc.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿNorthern Telecom, one of Lucent's top rivals, also declined to comment on the Ascend rumors, as did Alameda, Calif.-based Ascend's Chief Financial Officer, Michael Ashby.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿAshby added, however, that he thought at least one reason for the stock increase was that Ascend CEO Mory Ejabat said at a Deutsche Morgan Grenfell investor conference Thursday that the networking company is comfortable with analysts' consensus estimates of a fourth quarter profit of 23 cents a share and a 1998 profit of $1.15. Other leading networking equipment companies, including Cabletron Corp. and 3Com Corp., have recently issued earnings warnings
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ"There have been a number of rumors going around about Lucent, Nortel [Northern Telecom] and Bay Networks [Inc.]," Ashby said.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ"All three have been rumored to be close to a deal with Ascend. But we don't comment on any specific rumors," he added.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿAshby also said that Ascend is not seeking any suitors. But he declined to say if any unsolicited offers have been presented. He added that Ascend has not hired an investment banker to advise it on any matters, although it maintains regular relations with bankers.
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ÿ ÿRumors of the takeover surfaced Thursday in the options market, a trader said. Other market sources said the rumors pegged the takeover price at $35 a share.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿ"It's buyout rumors. But we've heard them before, so who knows. But they [the rumors] are back," one trader said.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿThursday's rumor renewed speculation that circulated on Oct. 17. At that time, Ascend rallied to about $35 a share as market rumors tied Ascend to Lucent.
ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿAscend, which acquired Cascade Communications in a stock deal earlier this year, has been seen as an acquisition target as its shares have fallen from their year's peak of about $80 a share.
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ÿ ÿ ÿ ÿReuter contributed to this story. >> |
