I hold CSCO, ASND, and ERICY. Whatever happens to ASND, LU, whatever is good for Cisco. If LU acquires ASND, they'll tear each other to pieces. I can't imagine Mory working under the thumb of those telco automatons. Half of Ascend's workforce would chafe at the process-oriented chains of the conglomerate, and hopefully join Cisco. Meanwhile, if they both go it alone, Cisco can pick them off one by one. My main position is Cisco, but short-term plays on these other guys are fun.
As for FORE, I don't understand the fit. FORE makes enterprise ATM switches, ATM to the desktop is an all but dead. Why would LU want to spread themselves so thin to the enterprise, when they need ASND or NN's IP over ATM, multiservice unit geared for service providers? In any case, LU taking out FORE is good for Cisco too. Ever hear of the LS1010, 8510, 8540? These are Cisco's counterparts to whatever FORE is peddling these days. |
