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Strategies & Market Trends : Rande Is . . . HOME -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rande Is who wrote (43189)	12/12/2000 9:28:47 AM
From: Daniel Mack	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 57584

Rande- just a quick hello and thankyou for new -SAM yesterday. I was lucky and snuck in, in the low 10's. Also looking at JNI*C here. Thoughts ? Selloff seems very overdone. ADAPting to the Climate :) Have a great day. DJM

To: Rande Is who wrote (43189)	12/12/2000 9:51:11 AM
From: Note bene	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 57584

RE ISLD - WSJ is reporting this morning that FON is in the market to purchase a Web Hosting company. ISLD one of three on rumoured short list. By NICOLE HARRIS Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Sprint Corp. is looking to beef up its Web-hosting business and could possibly buy a distressed provider of such services to fill the need, executives for the telecommunications provider said in an interview. The price of Sprint FON Group stock, which tracks Sprint's core wireline businesses, has fallen more than 60% from its 52-week high in the face of damaging price wars and slowing growth in the consumer long-distance business. At 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading Monday, Sprint FON Group shares were up $1 to $23.81; Sprint PCS Group shares, which track the wireless business, were up 69 cents to $26.88. In an effort to reverse the downward course, Sprint executives are trying to revamp the company's image, telling investors that the company intends to attract more profitable and loyal customers by offering Internet-related services. One such fast-growing area is Web hosting, or managing Web sites for businesses. Later this week, Sprint also is expected to announce the opening of so-called data centers, or locations where Internet services such as Web hosting take place. The company plans to build 11 data centers in the U.S. by the end of next year and intends to have 18 centers up and running by the end of 2002, executives said. In recent interviews at the company's Westwood, Kan., headquarters, Sprint executives said while "organic growth" is a top priority, the company also may be interested in buying a Web-hosting provider. "We are planning to build our own, but in some cases, if the opportunity presents itself and it's faster to buy, then we'll consider that," said Len Lauer, president of Sprint's Global Business Market Group. Sprint won't be alone in a still-young, fast-growing market that analysts expect to reach more than $20 billion by 2005. Nimble start-ups such as Exodus Communications Inc., the No. 1 player in the market, already have carved an early niche. Meanwhile, WorldCom Inc. also has said it plans to move quickly in the Web-hosting area. The Jackson, Miss., communications company has agreed to acquire Intermedia Communications Inc., to gain control of that company's Digex Inc. Web-hosting business. Sprint hasn't disclosed how much of its capital spending will go toward the Web-hosting business. At a recent analyst conference, Sprint executives told Wall Street that the company anticipates overall capital spending of $6.2 billion for 2001, compared with about $5 billion in 2000. Analysts say providers of Web-hosting services, such as PSINet Inc., which has 14 hosting facilities, Data Return Corp. or Digital Island Inc., are weakened by flagging stock prices and could be potential targets. PSINet and Digital Island officials declined to comment. Stuart Walker, Data Return's chief financial officer, declined to comment on a potential Sprint deal, but he pointed out that any transaction might face hurdles in the current market environment. "Every deal has to be evaluated on its own merits, but I don't see anyone stepping up in this market," Mr. Walker said. Still, analysts say Sprint could benefit from purchasing a Web-hosting company that already is up and running with a steady stream of customers. "It's not hard to build data centers, but can you create a platform of services and capabilities to attract customers to your facility? That will be Sprint's challenge," said John Hodulik, an analyst with UBS Warburg in New York, adding that buying a company outright "makes sense." Write to Nicole Harris at nicole.harris@wsj.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to top of page \| Format for printing Copyright © 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Copyright and reprint information.