Michael, we could go back and forth on your points 1,2,3 and 5. None of this would benefit either of us, or others on this thread, as it would all be opinion about markets and investing style.
Re: 4, I simply questioned your knowledge of the products lines of SFA, GIC, and ASND, because they just aren't related, and I feel ASND will avoid, if possible, any kind of low margin business, if they decide to try and grow through acquisition. And given current market caps of these three companies, ASND would be the clear acquirer.
I do not feel that ASND can continue to grow, long term (2-5 years), on their own. Short term (0-2 years), yes, they can grow their business. But the future of networking seems to be 6 or 7 megacompanies. Who will they be?
1) CSCO, NT, LU from North America.
2) ALA, ERICY, NOKA from Europe.
3) And maybe 1 from Japan.
Figure out which of these have a product line hole that ASND can fill, and you may have found its acquirer.
Of course, this is not a contrarian view of networkers, but the widely held view of most in the industry. There will always be niche players, but ASND's product lines don't represent niche products, so eventually, they will do better with better sales and marketing reach.
Gary |
