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Technology Stocks : 3Com Corporation (COMS) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Captain Jack who wrote (31827)	6/22/1999 9:17:00 AM
From: rest42	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 45548

Coms/ericy reference in this article--READ-----RPT-Newbridge stock climbs on rumors By Susan Taylor OTTAWA, June 21 (Reuters) - Network equipment developer Newbridge Networks Corp. <NNC.TO> posted major market gains on Monday, apparently fueled by the rumor mill. In Toronto, the stock surged C$4.55 to C$45.80. In New York, the stock closed at $31-4/16. Speculation over the Ottawa-area firm's future prospects appeared to be driving the rally, analysts said. Rumors around a takeover of Newbridge have picked up pace, with Sweden's Telefon AB L.M. Ericsson <LMEb.ST> fingered as the most likely dance partner. "I heard a rumor that Ericsson is taking a good hard look at them," said Paul Silverstein, analyst at BancBoston Robertson Stephens. "I think there's reason to believe that it's true." The timing fits because Newbridge is an increasingly attractive target due to market growth for its core Asynchronous Transfer Mode technology, which allows the high-speed transfer of voice, video and data, and good prospects for the firm's wireless network gear, he explained. "There have been rumors for a good six months about who is going to buy Newbridge," said a analyst in Toronto who did not want to be identified. "I'm hearing Ericsson." Speculation over Newbridge's future has been picking up steam as its competitors have rushed to pair off in the past year. In January, the world's largest maker of telephone equipment, U.S.-based Lucent Technologies Inc. <LU.N>, agreed to buy Ascend Communications Inc. <ASND.O> Cisco Systems Inc. <CSCO.O>, the largest maker of computer networking equipment, telecoms equipment maker Nortel Networks Corp. <NT.TO> and German industrial group Siemens AG <SIEG.F> have all taken the acquisition trail. Increasingly, there is chatter about potential partners for Newbridge, which includes Ericsson, Siemens -- already teamed with Newbridge in several ventures -- and U.S.-based Tellabs Inc. <TLAB.O> But another Bay Street observer, who asked not to be identified, said that a senior Ericsson executive recently told him that his firm was in discussion with Newbridge only about developing wireless technology. The analyst said the executive added that Ericsson would soon release news about its relationship with 3Com. "Newbridge has been acting funny for quite a while now given all the takeover speculation swirling around it," he said of the stock gains. Newbridge did not release any news, but did say on Monday that it is searching for a new vice-president of operations, following the departure of Bruce Rodgers, who held the post for 13 years. President Alan Lutz will fill the position until a replacement is named, a Newbridge spokesman said. Newbridge said last month that problems with its manufacturing and shipping procedures were to blame for weak fourth-quarter operating earnings, which came in at 12 cents a share versus the projected 21 cents per share. "It's symbolic," said a Toronto analyst, who asked not to be named. The replacement is about "optics", meant to show investors that Newbridge is taking action to fix its problems. Newbridge was also buoyed by a strong performance among other firms in the data networking sector on Monday. On Nasdaq, Cisco was up $3.44 at $122.72 and 3Com Corp. <COMS.O> was up $1.69 to $30.28. ($1=$1.47 Canadian) 07:58 06-22-99 Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.