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Strategies & Market Trends : The Thread Formerly Known as No Rest For The Wicked -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tim Luke who wrote (66544)	10/19/1999 7:17:00 PM
From: steve susko	Respond to of 90042

Old news from BBC in June - seems to be collaboration between GEC and Siemens in the Telcom business. ****************************************************************** Wednesday, June 24, 1998 Published at 08:40 GMT 09:40 UK Business: The Company File GEC and Siemens split the spoils GEC wants to focus on its three core businesses The General Electric Company is taking full control of Britain's largest telecoms equipment manufacturer GPT after buying a 40% stake worth £700m from German electronics giant Siemens. In exchange Siemens will receive and paying £610m in cash and take full control of another joint venture, Siemens GEC Communication Systems. GEC already owns 60% of GPT, the maker of fibre-optic networks, payphones and smartcards, and is buying the remaining stock from its joint venture partner. GPT, formerly known as Plessey, employs 10,000 staff and has factories in Coventry, Nottingham and Liverpool. It will be combined with GEC's defence and telecoms subsidiary Marconi SpA to form Marconi Communications. The creation of Marconi Communications would "unlock a range of value enhancing opportunities" including improved products, services, new strategic partnerships, cost savings and higher profits, GEC said. Back to basics Lord Simpson, managing director of GEC, said: "The formation of Marconi Communications demonstrates our responsiveness to the needs of our customers and creates a strong unified platform which will aggressively expand GEC's interest in this fast-growing global market. "GEC has become a more streamlined group, focused on three core business areas of defence electronics, communications and industrial electronics." The deal marks a winding down of GEC's joint ventures of its UK and German operations. Sandro Gualano, managing director of Marconi SpA, will become chairman of Marconi Communications, while Tony Cobbe, managing director of GPT, will become chairman of GEC Business Development.

To: Tim Luke who wrote (66544)	10/19/1999 7:21:00 PM
From: steve susko	Respond to of 90042

i just spotted that. it was that trade that dropped it down much early on!!

To: Tim Luke who wrote (66544)	10/19/1999 7:48:00 PM
From: jim bowman	Respond to of 90042

I finally finished loading the boat with CS today.

To: Tim Luke who wrote (66544)	10/19/1999 10:27:00 PM
From: Stuart T	Respond to of 90042

SEC Revises Rules For Mergers Tuesday October 19 12:17 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Securities and Exchange Commission Tuesday revised rules governing mergers and acquisitions to benefit small investors and U.S. shareholders in foreign companies. The new rules, which focus on takeovers and shareholder communications, overseas tender and exchange offers and rights offerings, 'are an attempt to modernize and bring up to date the rules and regulations regarding mergers and acquisitions,' said Brian Lane, head of the SEC's corporation finance unit. One major area affected by the changed rules is the communication that companies engaged in tender offers, mergers and similar business combination deals can have with investors. In the same way that initial public offerings have 'quiet periods,' so do merger and acquisition transactions. When a deal is announced, current regulatory laws force companies to remain silent until a formal document is filed with the SEC, agency officials explained. Now, under the amended rule, once a deal is announced companies will be mandated to file the same documents that analysts and other Wall Street insiders get. The filings will be posted for all to see on the SEC's massive EDGAR database, Lane said. Companies had been frustrated because they wanted to get the message of the deal out but felt that the regulations in place prohibited them from doing that, Lane added. The SEC also moved to balance the way it treats cash and stock tender offers. The former can begin as soon as a tender offer schedule is filed with the agency and the information is passed on to security holders. MORE: dailynews.yahoo.com

To: Tim Luke who wrote (66544)	10/20/1999 8:24:00 AM
From: kathyh	Respond to of 90042

good morning... avt news... Wednesday October 20, 3:00 am Eastern Time Company Press Release Avnet, Inc. Plans to Acquire Italian Distributors PCD Italia S.r.l. and Matica S.p.A. PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--October 20, 1999--Roy Vallee, Chairman and CEO of Avnet, Inc. (NYSE:AVT - news), announced today that it has agreed to acquire PCD Italia S.r.l. (''PCD'') and Matica S.p.A. (''Matica''), both based in Milan, Italy. PCD and Matica are value-added technical distributors of enterprise computing systems. PCD's focus is on IBM and Sun Microsystems products while Matica focuses on Hewlett-Packard, marketing exclusively to the reseller channel. The companies' combined sales for the year ending December 31, 1998 were $120 million, up from $90 million for 1997. The acquisition is pending the expiration of the waiting period for antitrust review. ''Avnet is expanding globally through strategic acquisitions,'' said Mr. Vallee. ''We are seeking to acquire companies on the Continent that will strengthen our efforts in providing the highest value relationships to our customers and suppliers, and expand our business into new markets. PCD and Matica are such companies.'' Once the transaction is finalized, PCD and Matica will join Avnet's Computer Marketing Group (CMG) as a part of the Hall-Mark Global Solutions (Hall-Mark) business unit. PCD and Matica, with approximately 60 employees, will add to Hall-Mark's growing worldwide presence, serving value-added resellers in the midrange computing marketplace. PCD's main products include IBM AS/400, IBM RS/6000, IBM printing, storage and software, as well as SUN workstations and servers. Matica's main products include HP servers, all of which will complement Hall-Mark's global marketing efforts. Avnet Computer Marketing Group President, Andy Bryant, believes that the companies' mutual customers and suppliers will benefit from the merger. ''We will be combining the best practices of both PCD and Matica with our operations. We look forward to enhancing our global coverage with the addition of their strong market presence,'' he said. ''PCD and Matica both exhibit a culture similar to Avnet's and we look forward to successful integration of the businesses,'' Bryant added. ''Hall-Mark's sales in Europe for FY '99 were $117 million. This acquisition will effectively double our sales and service offering on the Continent. Each company brings unique strengths and skills that combine to provide customers with recognized core competencies in every critical success area: comprehensive hardware and software solutions, state-of-the art logistics, distribution and electronic support infrastructure, proven marketing and customer satisfaction programs, experienced sales professionals and technical talent, and a solid financial base,'' Ken Moss, Executive Vice President Hall-Mark Global Solutions (Europe) added. According to Moss, the addition of PCD and Matica will position Hall-Mark Global Solutions as IBM's leading enterprise-level distribution partner in Europe. ''PCD and Matica's business model have always been dedicated to helping our customers maximize their business growth and end-user customer satisfaction,'' said Alessandro D'Amico, PCD General Manager. ''When we join the Avnet CMG team, our combined resources will result in superior service.'' Phoenix, Arizona-based Avnet, Inc, a Fortune 500 company with annual sales exceeding $6.35 billion, is one of the world's largest distributors of semiconductors, interconnect, passive and electromechanical components and computer products from leading manufacturers. Serving customers in 59 countries, Avnet markets, inventories and adds value to these products and provides world-class supply-chain management and engineering design services. The company's web site is located at www.avnet.com Headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, Hall-Mark Global Solutions is a $1.4 billion industry-leading, value-added distributor of enterprise computing systems, software and services, marketing exclusively to the reseller channel. A business unit of Avnet, Inc., Hall-Mark Global Solutions operates in North America, Austria, Australia, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. For more information about Hall-Mark, visit its website at: www.hallmark.avnet.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact: CONTACTS: Europe: Hall-Mark Global Solutions Ken Moss, Executive Vice President 011-44-1344662001 or America: Hall-Mark Global Solutions Sean Fanning, Vice President, Marketing 602/414-5503 or Avnet, Inc. Al Maag, Chief Communications Officer 480/643-7719 or Avnet, Inc. John Hovis, SVP Investor Relations Raymond Sadowski, SVP & CFO 480/643-7291 Fax: 480/643-7370 Internet: avnet.com e-mail: john.hovis@avnet.com