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Technology Stocks : Alcatel (ALA) and France -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Maple Leaf who wrote (2636)	10/20/2000 5:06:23 PM
From: Steve Fancy	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 3891

Alcatel Optronics Struggles With Debut of U.S. Trading By RAYMOND HENNESSEY Dow Jones Newswires October 20, 2000 NEW YORK -- After pricing at the low end of estimates, Alcatel SA's tracking stock for its optronics unit fell below its offering price in early U.S. trading Friday. Alcatel Optronics opened at $69 in Nasdaq trading, below the $71.95 price set on the offering of 16.5 million American Depositary Shares, each of which represents one Class O common share trading in Paris. The shares then traded even lower, changing hands at $67.25 in late trading. The offering priced at the bottom of estimates of 85 euros to 100 euros a share, or roughly $71.40 to $84 a share. Morgan Stanley Dean Witter led the IPO. The Alcatel Optronics offering was one of the most unusual to hit the U.S. market in recent memory. It was the first tracking stock issued as an American Depositary Share and the first tracking stock from France. Plus, its price range was unusually high for the U.S. market. Alcatel's optronics division is viewed as one of the key drivers of Alcatel's future growth. Overall, Alcatel's sales rose 37% in the first half of this year, to $11.6 billion, from $8.48 billion in the first half of 1999, according to the prospectus for the tracking stock. Optronics, though, saw sales jump 142% to roughly $135.5 million in the first half of 2000, from the $55.9 million reported in the first half of 1999. Net income, under French accounting, stood at about $21.2 million for the unit, compared with just $756,000 in the first half of 1999, according to the registration statement. Alcatel Optronics comes to market at a difficult time for most IPOs. Only nine offerings -- four from foreign issuers -- made it to market this week, and most did poorly. At the same time, eight companies, almost as many as priced offerings, withdrew their IPO filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. One domestic IPO to trade Friday, oil and gas drilling and exploration company Westport Resources Corp. of Denver, was trading just modestly higher. Westport's shares opened on the New York Stock Exchange at $16 after the company priced an IPO of 9.5 million shares at $15 apiece through lead underwriter Credit Suisse First Boston. The pricing was at the bottom of estimates of $15 to $17 a share. Recently, Westport's shares traded at $16.75, for 12% gain.