Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : S3 (A LONGER TERM PERSPECTIVE) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: CMon who wrote (13857)	12/21/1999 10:29:00 AM
From: stock talk	Respond to of 14577

WSJ TAKEOVER SPECULATION Dow Jones Newswires S3 Shares Up 13% Amid Renewed Takeover Speculation NEW YORK -- S3 Inc. (SIII) rose nearly 14% in heavy trading Monday amid renewed speculation that all or part of the company will be sold. S3 spokesman Paul Crossley neither confirmed nor denied the takeover rumors. "We are always in discussions with people to build shareholder value," he said. "...I don't care to speculate at this time. We are open to possiblities." Crossley said the rumors were a factor in the stock's rise Monday. S3 shares closed Monday at 11 3/8, up 1 3/8, or 13.8%, on Nasdaq volume of 5 million, compared with a daily average of 952,600. After the market closed, the Santa Clara, Calif., company reported it plans to buy Number Nine Visual Technology Corp. (NINE) for $4.8 million. Number Nine, a Lexington, Mass., interactive multimedia product maker, simultaneously filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code. Fahnestock & Co. analyst Dan Scovel said he believes S3 is in talks with one or more parties to sell all or part of the company. "It seems pretty clear to us," he said. "We know that management is frustrated with the stock's valuation given their efforts." Scovel speculated that Via Technologies Inc. (Q.VIA), a Taiwan chipset maker whose $13.50-a-share bid for S3 was rejected by management as too low, may have renewed its interest in the company. Although Preferred Capital Markets analyst Brian Alger agreed that takeover speculation was one of several factors contributing to the stock's rise Monday, he was less certain an acquisition was a real possibility. Alger said he doesn't believe there is much interest for graphics chip makers like S3. Instead, he said he thinks volume was created by investors interested in S3's graphics applications for the Linux operating system and by the expected initial public offering of RioPort next year. S3 owns a 45% stake in RioPort, a venture with MTV Networks and other venture capitalists. Once the volume was there, daytraders also bid the stock up, Alger said. "I don't think it's any one factor." If a bid does come to fruition, the offer is likely to be between $15 to $20 a share, said Scovel. He said he based his estimate on the company's holdings, which include stock, recently valued at about $750 million, in Taiwan semiconductor fab United Microelectronics Corp. (Q.UME). Can anyone confirm this article??