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Technology Stocks : Seagate Technology - Fundamentals -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Mark Madden who wrote (1531)	3/30/2000 12:45:00 PM
From: Sam	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1989

Salomon dropped coverage of Seagate today, rather abruptly. I would guess that this may fall under the theory of "If you can't say anything good, don't say anything at all." This is just my guess. But the deal didn't prevent John Dean from blessing Veritas: RESEARCH ALERT - Salomon ups Veritas NEW YORK, March 30 (Reuters) - Salomon Smith Barney said analyst John Dean upgraded Veritas Software to a buy from outperform a day after the company structured a $20 billion deal with Seagate Technology Inc. (NYSE: SEG) and Silver Lake Partners that will give Veritas $3 billion in value. -- said the deal, in which Veritas essentially buys Seagate and turns it private, is a "win/win/win" transaction and will be accretive for Veritas shareholders. -- said Veritas should be a core holding as a result of its strength in management, growth potential and enhanced market position through the transaction. -- said it has exceptional growth potential in the storage software industry and beyond and the company will eventually be able to leverage its impressive storage platform into other markets, such as Internet infrastructure and e-business. -- said it was maintaining its $200 price target. -- said through the deal, Veritas has enhanced its market position, stocking almost $1.3 billion of cash on its balance sheet, which could be used to fund acquisitions or further its R&D efforts. -- shares of Veritas were up 1-1/4 at 143-3/4. ============================================== I don't think that this upgrade is a coincidence. It will help keep Veritas's stock price up, which in turn keeps the value of the deal up, which in turns provides Seagate with the smokescreen they need that the deal is worth a lot of money to stockholders. Keep all eyes off of the price being paid for the drive unit. And, who knows, if SSB are good boys now, they may get a piece of any underwriting action that the private Seagate may perchance require in a couple of years. My opinions only. s.