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To: Paul Lee who wrote (2196)	6/1/2001 9:08:20 PM
From: KHS	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2404

Spirent plc is quoted on the London Stock Exchange (ticker SPT), under the Information Technology Hardware sector, and is a member of the FTSE 100 index.

To: Paul Lee who wrote (2196)	6/7/2001 3:49:23 PM
From: Scrapps	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2404

Alcatel sells high-speed modems business to Thomson (UPDATE: Adds details from companies paragraghs 12-15, updates prices) Thursday June 7, 7:11 am Eastern Time By Catherine Bremer PARIS, June 7 (Reuters) - French telecoms equipment maker Alcatel agreed on Thursday to sell its high-speed Internet modems business to Thomson Multimedia (TMM) as part of its strategy to focus on communication networks. ADVERTISEMENT Alcatel and the French consumer electronics company said in a joint statement that Alcatel would sell its modem DSL (digital subscriber line) business for 9.5 million new TMM shares, valuing the deal at 456 million euros ($389 million). Shares in the two groups fell, despite analysts rating the sale as positive for both, amid a general malaise in tech stocks and negative sentiment towards Alcatel. Traders said a number of Alcatel sell orders had been delayed from Wednesday. Alcatel shares were down 2.27 percent at 29.76 euros at 1045 GMT and TMM down 0.84 percent lower at 45.80 euros. ``This is in line with Alcatel's strategy of concentrating on systems for operators and getting out of terminals and other consumer products,'' said Global Equities analyst Laurent Balcon. ``The valuation is not fantastically high, but they've made a wise decision to get rid of this activity today because modem prices are likely to come down in the months ahead. This might also mark a strengthening of the partnership with TMM,'' he said. Alcatel -- whose merger talks with U.S. Lucent Technologies (NYSE:LU - news) collapsed last week -- had a 6.4 percent stake in TMM at the end of March. The 9.5 million new shares are equivalent to 3.58 percent of TMM before the capital increase and Alcatel's stake will rise to 9.6 percent following the share issue. The deal is due to be finalised by the end of June and the transfer is likely to take place at the end of the year. Alcatel will continue to make parts for DSL networks, notably DSM multiplexers where it has a 52 percent market share, but said the modem market would evolve more into a retail business model ``where Thomson Multimedia has unique expertise''. DSM multiplexers boost transmission capacity by splitting communications lines up into several frequency bands, meaning multiple data signals can be sent over a single line. TMM, the biggest seller of TVs in the United States and the fourth biggest consumer electronics company worldwide, said the activity would complement its set top box and digital cable modem businesses, giving it a leading position in DSL modems. TMM Chief Financial Officer Frank Dangeard told a conference call he expected the modem unit to double its 2000 turnover of 220 million euros this year, although growth would retreat to more normal levels -- between 20 and 50 percent -- after that. Dangeard also forecast that operating margins at the unit would rise to six to eight percent from five percent last year. SALE REINFORCES PARTNERSHIP Alcatel's DSL modems business had a market share of about 22 percent last year, with some 1.7 million units sold, and 28 percent in the first quarter of 2001, according to Dell'Oro. The business is based mainly in Belgium, with some activities in France and Germany. Alcatel General Secretary Jacques Dunogue said the sale would reinforce technical and commercial cooperation and said the two groups would work together on research and development. After talks with Lucent ended, Alcatel said it would stop making mobile handsets and divest a unit that offers services to companies to focus on networks, optics and space communications. Alcatel is banking on two billion euros in capital gains from asset sales this year to go towards balancing a forecast three billion euros second quarter net loss, the accumulation of writedowns, inventory depreciation and restructuring costs. Alcatel is the world leader in high-speed ADSL (asymmetric digital subscriber line) links between local customers and networks, a technology that speeds up Internet access.