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To: Voltaire who wrote (2451)	2/3/2000 10:44:00 PM
From: DOUG H	Respond to of 35685

Mannesmann, Vodafone Set To Merge Updated 5:32 PM ET February 3, 2000 By BURT HERMAN, Associated Press Writer BERLIN (AP) - Mannesmann AG of Germany is poised to accept a sweetened takeover bid of $180 billion from Britain's Vodafone Airtouch PLC, a deal that would create the world's No. 1 wireless company through the biggest merger in history. Mannesmann head Klaus Esser, speaking Thursday alongside Vodafone chief executive Chris Gent in their first side-by-side appearance, said he would recommend that the company's supervisory board accept the deal at a meeting Friday. The breakthrough in the hostile takeover battle followed intense last-minute negotiations between Gent and Esser in a meeting that stretched from Wednesday night into Thursday morning. The new offer would give Mannesmann investors close to an equal stake in the combined company, settling a major stumbling block in the negotiations. Mannesmann had demanded no less than a 50 percent share in the new company, but Gent as recently as Wednesday ruled such an option out, insisting that Vodafone was much larger than Mannesmann. "The shareholders clearly think that this company, Mannesmann, a great company, would be better together with Vodafone Airtouch," Gent told reporters in Duesseldorf. "I look forward to coming back to Duesseldorf in the middle of next week to have further talks with (Esser) and members of his team." The companies had been locked in a stalemate since Nov. 14, when Mannesmann's supervisory board rejected Vodafone's unsolicited overture. Before the new proposal was announced, Mannesmann shareholders were facing a Monday deadline on whether to accept a Vodafone offer worth about $165 billion. Under the new proposal, Mannesmann shareholders would get 58.96 Vodafone shares for each of their Mannesmann shares, giving them a combined 49.5 percent stake in the merged company. Vodafone shareholders would hold a controlling stake with 50.5 percent of the stock in the new company, which would be the biggest wireless communications concern in the world with market-leading operations in Europe and the United states. The merged company would have 42 million customers in 25 countries with an especially strong presence in Europe, controlling the No. 1 or No. 2 position in 11 European countries with 29 million customers on the continent. If accepted, the deal would easily eclipse both America Online's planned $135 billion merger with Time Warner and MCI WorldCom's $115 billion deal with Sprint Corp. as the biggest corporate marriage in history Mannesmann, which also owns a major engineering and automotive business, operates the largest mobile calling business in Germany. Vodafone became the world's biggest mobile phone business about a year ago by acquiring AirTouch Communications, a major wireless operator in the western and midwestern United States. Now, Vodafone is set to link up AirTouch with Bell Atlantic's wireless unit in a joint venture that will create the biggest U.S. wireless service. The new company's large coverage area would make it easier for mobile phone users to take their service with them around the globe. The combined company also would likely play a dominant role in implementing the next generation of wireless technology, which will allow high-speed Internet access from anywhere in the world. In Brussels, European Union monopoly regulators said earlier Thursday they would have to review any merger between the two companies. "We have been looking at it since we were first notified and we will continue to look at it," said EU Commission spokesman Michael Tscherny, adding that the Commission is expected to issue a first-phase decision on the case on Feb. 17. Both companies have each spent millions of dollars on media campaigns trying to persuade Mannesman's shareholders. Each insisted it had a better strategy for a rapidly changing telecom industry - especially in Europe, where deregulation has sparked a frenzied race to grab market share. Hostile takeovers are almost unheard of in Germany, and politicians and labor leaders here have decried Vodafone's attempt even though Mannesmann recently acquired Orange PLC, a Vodafone rival in Britain. If the merger goes through, the new company would likely spin off Orange to avoid conflict with anti-monopoly laws in Britain. Earlier this week, Vodafone took the upperhand in the battle by announcing a European Internet and telephone venture with the French conglomerate Vivendi SA, a company Mannesmann had been trying to partner with. Vodafone has said no jobs will be cut as a result of any merger. However, according to earlier reports, Mannesmann's Esser would step down as part of the deal

To: Voltaire who wrote (2451)	2/4/2000 4:20:00 AM
From: unclewest	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 35685

V now that you are in...this why you bought CREE. while reading this, to appreciate the enormous growth opportunity, keep in mind that CREE's current sales are less than $100 million per year. unclewest of course you know all of this already...but it was just bar talk before. CREE....B of A report details... highlights and paraphrased. while reading this, to appreciate the enormous growth opportunity, keep in mind that CREE's current sales are less than $100 million per year. cree is the world's leading provider of blue LEDs. booming demand for blue and green LEDs cree dominates worldwide SiC production 90+ % marketshare 61 patents cree is a unique competitor in all its target market because it controls production end to end cree addresses a market opp we see in excess of $10 billion cree's white light conversion product win into nokia's 8850 handset portends an awesome market opp. the total available market to cree is nothing short of awesome. we estimate the total world market (TAM) for all LEDs is currently over $2 billion. this does nothing to take into consideration the implications of the blue green and white light revolution underway, nor the explosive growth in wireless handsets and PDAs. a typical cell phone can use up to 10 or LEDs for LCD and keypad lighting. the nokia win uses 16 cree LEDs per handset. next several years cree?s LED TAM increases by $2.5 billion the market opp for rf transistors is $8 billion by 2003. we can add to this rf opportunities, laser opportunities, and general white light opportunities that add $billions more to the mix. cree is addressing a market opportunity greater than $10 billion. because of the awesome magnitude of cree's earnings generating potential in its target markets and its stellar record of execution, we have initiated coverage with a strong buy and price target of $200. we believe the company could easily exceed $2 in earnings in 2001. cree's SiC is nothing short of revolutionary current uses include wireless handsets, auto instrumentation, LCD backlighting, indicator lamps, full-color indoor and outdoor displays, other lighting applications, gemstone products, laser diodes, microwave power amplifiers, power devices, wireless base station, radar system, other commercial and military applications. the companies new product initiatives based on SiC marketing opportunities we measure to be in the tens of billions of dollars. competing technologies have significant limitations CREE's SiC overcome other compound semi-conductor shortcomings blue and white light conversion are the key driver for 2000. most common apps: auto instrument panel, indoor and outdoor display, traffic lights, under counter case lighting, indicator lights on PCs, printers and other equip. advantages: longer life, lower replacement and maintenance cost, lower energy consumption, smaller space requirements. a groundswell of demand is mushrooming for cree's high brightness blue and white light conversion LEDs. cree's product portfolio will diversify rapidly in coming years. we believe cree's substrate improvements are driving SiC device development improvements, strengthening the economic advantages of SiC in target applications and distancing CREE as the world's overwhelmingly dominant supplier of SiC. CREE's end to end manufacturing approach is unparalleled. not even intel holds as much end to end control over the production of its microprocessors as CREE does in the production of its devices. cree's competitive advantage across all product lines is obtained through a highly advanced technology chain that is rich in IP property. the competitive threats to cree are modest. nichia and toyoda gosei produce higher brightness products but charge a premium. CREE has made significant progress in the brightness of its products and its market share leadership position attests that its price to performance value has hit the sweet spot of the market. other competition includes agilent and emcore/uniroyal. both have been plagued by quality and performance shortcomings. they do have strong partners..phillips and GE.