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Technology Stocks : Cisco Systems, Inc. (CSCO) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jerome who wrote (54002)	7/11/2001 7:19:09 PM
From: rosebud	Respond to of 77400

Cisco Buying PixStream--No. 17 Acquisition For 2000 Networking giant Cisco Systems is expanding its broadband services by acquiring PixStream Inc., which makes software and hardware that manage digital video across broadband networks. The all-stock deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, is valued at $369 million. Using PixStream's hardware, software, and engineers, Cisco would be able to offer its customers what it says is broadcast-quality video on demand and multiplayer games over digital subscriber line, cable, and broadband wireless networks. PixStream was an attractive buy for Cisco, because its streaming video products are complimentary to those of V-Bits, a supplier of digital video-processing systems that Cisco acquired last November, says DataQuest analyst Kathie Hackler. The PixStream acquisition helps Cisco bring streaming video to businesses without being limited by the lack of a cable infrastructure in a business environment, Hackler says. "Cable systems are commonly viewed as residential entertainment, but now with the prospect of streaming-video content that might be suitable for business, it makes sense to bring video into the business environment." Through the acquisition, expected to close by October, PixStream's 156 employees would become part of Cisco's service-provider unit. -- Tischelle George Information Week, Aug 31, 2000

To: Jerome who wrote (54002)	7/11/2001 7:19:53 PM
From: rosebud	Respond to of 77400

Cisco shuts down PixStream High-tech company was purchased four months ago for $554 million Thursday April 26, 2001 Kevin Crowley RECORD STAFF A laid off Cisco employee takes belongings from the company's Waterloo office yesterday. WATERLOO -- The high-tech slowdown caught up with Waterloo yesterday as Cisco Systems Inc. announced plans to close its PixStream office, throwing 170 employees out of work immediately. The remaining 40 workers in the Waterloo office will lose their jobs in four months when Cisco closes the video-networking operation completely. Cisco's presence in Waterloo was short-lived. It was only four months ago that the California-based Internet-infrastructure giant bought PixStream for $554 million. Since then, Cisco has been hit hard by the general economic slowdown. The PixStream closing is part of a global cost-cutting plan that Cisco announced March 9. The company is chopping 6,000 full-time jobs, or 14 per cent of its 44,000-person global workforce. The impact on Canadian workers wasn't revealed until yesterday. In total, Cisco is laying off about 25 per cent of its Canadian workforce -- about 273 out of 1,090 employees. The PixStream closing had been rumoured over the past week but it was still a shock for many employees. None would comment on the record, but some said the severance package was generous. All employees are getting a minimum six months of salary and benefits, as well as job-search and resumé counselling, spokeswoman Willa Black said. In addition, Cisco is giving laid-off employees 12 months to exercise their stock options because the current price of Cisco stock is below the option price. Shares in Cisco closed yesterday on the Nasdaq at $15.73 US -- less than half what it was when the company bought PixStream on Dec. 20. The acquisition made instant millionaires out of some PixStream employees, at least on paper. The purchase was an all-stock deal that provided employee shareholders with 90 per cent of the shares upfront. The remainder was to be issued over two years. At least some employees sold part of their stock soon after receiving it. But PixStream co-founder Brad Siim said yesterday it was impossible to say whether the majority of employees sold their Cisco stock before it tanked. Siim said he was very disappointed by Cisco's decision to close the PixStream operation. He and colleagues Marc Morin and Steve Bacso founded the company in 1996 with the goal of developing it into a publicly traded company. They were on the verge of an initial public offering last summer when Cisco made an offer they couldn't refuse. "It's really disappointing," said Siim, who, along with Morin, will be part of the local transition team serving customers as the operation winds down over four months. When Cisco announced the proposed acquisition last August, it said PixStream's video-networking technology filled a gap in its product line. That's still true, Cisco spokesman Lou Santora said yesterday. Unfortunately, he said, Cisco has to make cuts somewhere in order to deal with the general economic slowdown. "This was a very, very difficult business decision," Santora said. "It has absolutely nothing to do with the performance of this team . . . or the product line. Cisco still views this as world-leading technology." Nonetheless, Cisco is getting out of the video-networking business and leaving Waterloo, Santora said. However, Cisco will look for ways to continue offering the PixStream technology to customers, perhaps through partnerships with other companies. The PixStream closing is the first major round of layoffs to hit the local high-tech community since the global downturn in the technology industry began several months ago. Greg Barratt, president of the local high-tech association called Communitech, said the layoffs are disappointing but he's confident the workers will quickly find other jobs in Waterloo's thriving technology industry. Barratt also said that some employees will likely start their own companies, carrying on a strong tradition in the local high-tech community. "It speaks back to the strength of this market, which continues to be the homegrown, University-of-Waterloo- related firms that continue to march along in a big way," he said. "There's breadth and depth here and most of it's homegrown." WITH FILES FROM PHILIP JALSEVAC, RECORD STAFF