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Gold/Mining/Energy : Com Dev International -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ron Schier who wrote (168)	9/25/2000 6:11:01 PM
From: sPD	Respond to of 216

Article from Canada-iNvest.com COM DEVelopment Mon, Sep. 25, 2000 16:59 By Maria Babbage, Canada-iNvest.com Wireless communications company COM DEV International Ltd. (CDV) believes it’s got the best of both worlds when it comes to the new Internet product it’s developing. In announcing a new licensing deal with mobile-phone maker QUALCOMM Inc. (QCOM) today, it seems their American partner – which is also taking an equity stake in the company – agrees. COM DEV stock skyrocketed today with the news that its Cambridge-based wireless division will be developing a new mobile wireless high-speed Internet system with QUALCOMM’s patented high data rate (HDR) technology. COM DEV shares rose by 20 per cent, reaching a high of $13.80 from a previous close of $10.95. “If you think of the excitement in the world right now, half of it is on the Internet and the other half is on wireless -- and this product basically combines the two,” says COM DEV’s Chief Financial Officer and vice-president Tim Zahavich. “You’ll be able to get full Internet access in a fully mobile sense . . . you can walk from wherever you are to wherever you’re going or you can sit in a car or train and still have Internet access, which is pretty exciting stuff.” The companies have entered into a series of license and technology transfer agreements that will include an HDR technical design transfer agreement and royalty-bearing licenses for HDR infrastructure equipment and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) modem cards. COM DEV, which also supplies advanced equipment for commercial communication satellites through its COM DEV Space division, will have the rights to use HDR technology in base stations and mobile modem cards of its soon-to-be released high-speed wireless system. However, Zahavich wouldn’t disclose the exact figure of the “multi-million dollar” agreements or the amount QUALCOMM will pay for it’s equity investment in the company. “From a float standpoint – it’s like a dilution standpoint – it’s quite small, less than one per cent,” he said. “From an absolute dollar standpoint, it can be substantial if you use that sort of barometer for your calculation.” Peter Notidis, a special situations analyst with Toronto-based Harris Partners Ltd., says he was expecting this announcement since the spring, when COM DEV hinted it was developing a new product and working to find large cellular American partners. “They’ve also said that they will be coming out with further announcements, they are in the midst of negotiations with the other large players in the U.S. market to roll out this product,” he says. “I think it’s a very positive development for the company.” He says the new system is compact, will rival currently available DSL and cable connections for speed and can be used anywhere, anytime. “For all intensive purposes, anywhere you can get cell phone usage these days, you’ll be able to get high-speed wireless Internet,” he adds. Although Notidis is currently reviewing the stock, he says once the new system starts rolling off the line, he expects “a very positive and significant” impact on COM DEV’s revenues. He currently holds a “buy” rating on the company’s stock and 12-month target price of $15. He suspects they will first focus on the North American market, then tackle either Europe or Asia, having just built a manufacturing plant in China. “This will definitely contribute favourably to their bottom line,” he says. “What I’m waiting to see, basically, is trying to get some more details on who they are negotiating with and sort of gauge from that what sort of potential there is for this product. But I expect it to be very, very favourable. Nobody else has anything similar to this and they will be offering it at a very competitive price. So I suspect they will get a good share of the market.”