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 : Newbridge Networks -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Captain Jack who wrote (16712)	1/27/2000 4:51:00 PM
From: Samuel Wayne Turner	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 18016

anybody got an after hours quote on NN. Shows close of 29 1/2 on cboe, that cant be right. Must be misprint or something. Can anyone clarify, thanks! Update: it is now showing 28 1/8, much more reasonable.

To: Captain Jack who wrote (16712)	1/28/2000 8:00:00 AM
From: Frodo	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 18016

Newbridge investors fear share fallout Getting pressure: Analysts say deal needs to be done by Feb. 22 Jill Vardy Financial Post OTTAWA - Major institutional shareholders in Newbridge Networks Corp. are growing nervous of the stock fallout if Newbridge fails to announce soon that it has found a buyer. Rumours that Newbridge is close to announcing it has reached a takeover agreement with a larger telecommunications equipment company sent the stock soaring 15% Wednesday. It closed in Toronto at $39.70 yesterday, down 25½. Informed observers say the Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, which owns almost five million Newbridge shares (2.6%), and Fidelity Investments Corp., which owns more than eight million shares, or 4.6% of Newbridge's stock in its mutual funds, are quietly pushing Newbridge to have a deal to announce before or when its third-quarter results are announced on Feb. 22. "The Caisse and Fidelity are putting on a lot of pressure," said one observer. Neither would comment on the speculation. "The Caisse doesn't comment on this kind of rumour," said Marie-Claude Rivet, a spokeswoman for the fund. Fidelity also declined comment. Ken Wigglesworth, Newbridge's chief financial officer, said the pressure isn't surprising. "Institutions call very regularly, period, and I'm sure some of them are asking 'what's happening,' 'how long is this going to take,' 'this seems like a long time,' and so on," said Mr. Wigglesworth. "We're providing no signals or anything. We're going about our business." He said the expectation of news by Feb. 22 is a deadline set by the markets, not by Newbridge, which has set no internal deadlines for pursuing strategic alternatives. "I think it's just that Feb. 22 is the next time Newbridge will be communicating in a detailed way with the public so people see that as a meaningful date. On the analyst conference call that day there's no way questions won't be asked on that area if we said nothing. "You don't go out for drinks and sign a multi-billion dollar deal," he continued. "Generally this process takes time and the best interest is to go through all the alternatives at the full extent and do what you have to do. Clearly we have shareholder value in mind." Failure to meet the Feb. 22 market deadline will likely result in a huge drop in the stock price. "If no buyer is announced [by Feb. 22] the stock will trade back down to the mid-teens," said Paul Sagawa, technology analyst at Sanford Bernstein & Co. in New York. "There's no love for Newbridge management. There's no love for Newbridge in general. It's all greed pushing up the stock because investors think the company will be sold soon." "There is incredible pressure from institutional shareholders to make a sale," agreed Robert MacLellan, technology analyst at CT Securities. He believes a deal will be announced before or when the quarterly results are unveiled. Newbridge's third quarter ends on Jan. 31, and analysts say it could beat their consensus estimates of 11½ a share. Mr. MacLellan said he's optimistic the quarter will be a strong one. Mr. MacLellan says Newbridge is a stock to buy largely because of takeover speculation, and that investors will quickly tire if something isn't announced soon. "Most people have been burned by Newbridge disappointments, and rumours it's a target for acquisition have popped up through late 1998 and all of calendar 1999," he said. "Now the street is a little bit jaded. Now they want to see the steak, not just the sizzle." Possible buyers include Marconi plc., Alcatel SA, Siemens AG, Ericsson AG, Cisco Systems Inc. and Nortel Networks Corp.