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Technology Stocks : The New QLogic (ANCR) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim Stellick who wrote (27145)	5/25/2000 11:38:00 PM
From: J Fieb	Respond to of 29386

Jim S., BRCD has put seed money into Optical Networks, which has changed their name to ONI. What's Up With ONI's IPO? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- After being postponed for the second day in a row, questions started to emerge about optical networking company ONI Systems' oni.com (proposed Nasdaq symbol: ONIS) attempt for a blockbuster IPO. Demand for the stock was described by several sources as high, so the delays were not likely to be related to the lack of demand or due to market conditions. One source from an investment bank not underwriting the deal said the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had delayed the IPO with its "commentary" on the S-1 filing, which is required to be released by the federal agency before the issue can start trading. ONI today filed an amended S-1 statement, indicating that company officials may be working with the SEC. An SEC spokesperson said the agency "does not comment on current filings." During a filing period, the SEC often engages in a private dialog with the company to ensure their filing is in compliance with U.S. securities regulations. A spokeswoman at Goldman Sachs Group Inc.http://www.gs.com (NYSE: GS), the lead underwriter for the offering, said that they "expect to price the deal tonight [Wednesday]." [Update: as of Thursday morning, the deal had not been priced]. ONI hopes to sell 8 millions shares of stock in a price range of $21-$23. With demand for optical networking companies strong, it is expected that the shares would trade to $50 or higher once on the open market, giving the company a valuation in the range of $6 billion, with 124 million shares outstanding. ONI Systems had not yet returned requests for comment at press time. Even if the deal is priced by the underwriting investment banks on Wednesday night, the SEC would have to release the filing on Thursday morning in order for shares to begin trading. ONI's IPO is being closely watched within the networking industry. The company's relationship with Williams Communications Group wilcom.com (NYSE: WCG) became the topic of discussion after the S-1 filing revealed that Matthew Bross, Chief Technolology Officer of Williams, was a major shareholder in ONI. Williams is ONI's primary customer and Bross, who makes technology buying decisions for Willams, owns options on 322,000 shares in common and preferred stock (see Williams' CTO Profits From His Position ). He stands to turn those shares into a multimillion-dollar position in the event of an IPO. Rome had incest and the valley has the same problem. Here is the Nortel digression that held up any earlier IPO, maybe they settled? BRAMPTON, ONTARIO--It was a case of up one instant, down the next: The ink was drying on an IPO filing by Optical Networks Inc. opticalnetworks.com for $115 million (see ONI Goes For IPO ), when Nortel Networks Corp.http://www.nortelnetworks.com made another kind of filing: It slapped ONI with a lawsuit for misappropriation of trade secrets, infringement of patents, unfair business practices, and unfair competition. Nortel is demanding injunctions against ONI and a jury trial. A Nortel spokesperson said it was "purely coincidence" that the lawsuit, filed Friday in northern California, coincided with ONI's filing. Nortel's complaint accuses ONI of hiring at least 30 staffers away from Nortel and its contractors as part of "an on-going campaign" to acquire technology. Nortel claims ONI based its Dynamic Transport System (DTS) on knowledge gleaned from these former Nortel employees--knowledge that forms the basis of Nortel's OPTera family of products. "At least five patents have been violated," said David J. Chamberlin, senior communications manager at Nortel. Both the OPTera and DTS series include optical metropolitan area access and edge devices. Nortel says ONI has systematically hired Nortel help at each stage of product design, from R&D through product development and marketing. And as a result, Nortel claims ONI has made "unlawful gains and profits," for which Nortel seeks compensation, punitive injunctions, damages, and royalties if its case is upheld in court. This isn't Nortel's first legal stab at ONI. In October 1999, Nortel filed and won a partial injunction banning certain ONI employees from hiring away their ex-colleagues and contractors from Nortel. OT Here is a great terabit router discription..... lightreading.com . It?s so heavy that it can?t be transported in elevators, and can?t be placed on the suspended floor in its lab (see Avici Battles Weight Problem )