Acquisition Musings:
The last time I checked with the Gartner Group, they still thought Nortel was the best fit and most likely suitor. My feeling is that FORE being acquired would not be good for long term investors; it would only be good for short term gamblers. Former investors in high growth, high PE companies like Cascade and Powersoft (what a coincidence, I resemble such an investor) will tell you that being acquired by another company (especially a vertical market company) with different management styles, a lower PE, different market approach can be the kiss of death. However,if FORE wanted to merge with YURI and dominate the ATM world, that would be different...
FORE is still the technical leader in ATM and as long as they hold that edge over the Cascade and Stratacomm R&D factions, and as long as they have enough cash, I see no reason for them to be acquired. ATM's cash cow days are right around the corner and FORE's boxes are easily integrated with other vendors, regardless of technology. Ultimately, most migration paths point to ATM. The only question is whether its next year or five years down the road. Gigabyte ethernet is but a waystation. Its that cheaper big screen TV you want now even though you know you'll own HDTV soon afterwards. |
