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To: Roebear who wrote (58371)	1/12/2000 6:49:00 PM
From: enervestor	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95453

O/T- An amusing commentary about today's markets and investors: ETEC Systems (ETEC) is a semi-equipment company that Applied Materials is taking over. ETEK Dynamics (ETEK)is a fiber-optic company trading a considerably higher price than ETEC. On the after-hours ticker, there is a buying frenzy for both companies. People are buying ETEK like mad at $125 even though those buying ETEC for the take-over are only paying $75 for it. Just wonder how much DD is being done here.

To: Roebear who wrote (58371)	1/12/2000 11:43:00 PM
From: SliderOnTheBlack	Respond to of 95453

FGH - more than just the numbers... If anyone was curious as to why Institutions virtually dumped FGH last quarter and why today's announcement was met with a 25% selloff; perhaps Institutions & Individual Investors alike, felt like they were given a bit too rosy of a picture by FGH management. In the realm of publically traded companies management credibility is priceless and you don't get many second chances. Less than 90 days ago - all was well ? Working relationships were "excellent" ? - but, 90 days later the President and the man who was destined to become CEO in 2 years resigns ? Less than 90 days after "all is well" - FGH is going to show a LOSS for the quarter ?!?!? If you were an Institutional Money Manager and you meet with management and get the "all is great" roadshow speech - and less than 90 days later the President resigns and the company pre-announces out of leftfield; how anxious would you be to either hold, or to return anytime soon after dumping - like we saw last quarter and today ? TIMELINE: Oct. 25 - "merger progressing on schedule" & "working relationships ... great" JACKSON, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 25, 1999--Friede Goldman International (NYSE:FGI - news) announced today that its activities related to its pending merger with Halter Marine Group (AMEX:HLX - news) were progressing on schedule. The company has received commitments from a group of banks led by Wells Fargo and Bank One for a credit facility that will meet the financing needs of the combined company. J.L. Holloway, chairman and CEO of Friede Goldman, said, ``We are pleased to have received the commitments for our credit facility and with the banks which are participating.' Response from shareholders of both companies to the proposed merger has been positive based on proxies received through October 25. Transition teams have been meeting in an effort to assure an orderly integration of the operations and management of the two companies. **``The working relationship between the two companies is excellent,' Holloway continued. ``Management teams from both companies have been working together over the last several weeks to identify specific areas where operations can be enhanced, costs savings can be realized and duplicate efforts can be eliminated. We expect that the transition to a combined company will go smoothly. In addition, we are optimistic about the improvement that we see in the energy sector and the opportunities for new business that we expect such improvement to generate. I believe the companies are coming together at an opportune time to take advantage of the anticipated activity increase in the offshore sector.' ----------------------------------------------------------- Nov. 4 - Merger is completed: JACKSON and GULFPORT, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 3, 1999-- Friede Goldman International Inc. (NYSE:FGI - news) and Halter Marine Group, Inc. (AMEX:HLX - news) today announced that the two companies have completed their previously announced merger and the name of the combined company is now Friede Goldman Halter, Inc. The company will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the new symbol ``FGH' starting on November 4. ----------------------------------------------------------- Jan. 12 - President Resigns & FGH pre-warns ------------------------------------------------------------ There may be a time to come back to FGH, but only after they finally "show us the money" - via significant new orders, backlog growth and upside earnings surprises. It no longer matters what we "hear" from FGH - but, only what we "see" on the bottom line... Also, perhaps we also need to show more respect for what can only be described as a massive professional short position in a stock - that does not go away. Regardless of it being purely short traders, or perhaps a combo of legal hedging of insider positions and short traders; this is a warning that somebody is less than confident of the stock at present prices and is willing to make one hell of a large bet against present shareprices. Money of that size, rarely makes that size of a bet unless the perceive the odds to be greatly stacked in their favor - keyword being the odds "greatly" stacked in their favor. Now the question for those who wish to bottomfish; is what is the NAV value of FGH ? Is there any significant financial solvency risk ? "What if" there are few incoming orders and "what if" they lose the arbitrations ? Is buying FGH here investing/trading, or merely gambling on the arbitration results ? Are you an investor/trader, or a gambler ? ...awfully close to the non-marginable $5 level & we know what happens when a stock gets close to being pushed over the edge, now don't we ? - who called for $4 7/8ths ? ~Kudo's to TheStreet.Com & Mavis Scanlon who made the correct call from the beginning; ie: Acquiring Halter Marine Won't Bail Friede out of Deep-Water Doldrums By Mavis Scanlon Staff Reporter 6/2/99 9:31 PM ET Friede Goldman (FGI:NYSE) can breathe a little easier now that it's buying Halter Marine (HLX:AMEX). Friede is working through its backlog of deep-water rig-building projects with no new projects on the horizon. But Halter promises to diversify Friede's business, bringing a major line of government and commercial shipbuilding projects, such as high-speed patrol boats, ferries and tow boats. Halter's non-energy related shipbuilding contracts account for about $400 million to $500 million in revenue annually; for Halter's fiscal year ended March 31, it generated $998 million in total revenue. Both companies also are talking about opportunities for "significant" cost-savings. In addition to savings on administrative costs, the combined company will generate operational savings and will have better purchasing power, J.L. Holloway, Friede's chairman and chief executive, said on a conference call with analysts and investors. The companies haven't set specific targets yet. All this, however, may not alleviate Friede's deep-water problems. The new company, to be called Friede Goldman Halter, will face an increasingly competitive market for shipyard projects. An overhang of deep-water rigs has caused rental rates on new contracts to plunge, and IT WILL LIKELY BE YEARS BEFORE OIL COMPANIES UNDERTAKE NEW RIG CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS. ------------------------------------------------------------ * nothing like hitting the nail on the head from day one, now is there... I think "someone" else noted that the challenges of the assimilation of these vast construction facilities would be much more difficult than most felt at the time. Also, was the shipbuilding business "healthy" at the time of the proposed merger ? How many bankruptcies had occured of late in the ship building business ? HLX looked like it was following in HMAR's footsteps - at least in shareprice. Was there ANY weaker subsector than the boats ? Was this a merger made in heaven, or one a bit further south ... ? I'd be curious as to how John Dane would answer that question right about now...