Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Gold/Mining/Energy : CALL NET ENTERPRISES (T-CN.B $11.25)Big upside potential -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Dan Hamilton who wrote (643)	7/8/2002 9:38:57 AM
From: DeplorableIrredeemableRedneck	Respond to of 652

Competitive carriers will 'tread water' in next 12 months Call-Net boss bill linton Mark Evans National Post Monday, July 08, 2002 National Post Bill Linton, Call-Net's CEO, says the CRTC's price-cap move will force the carrier to slow its growth plans. ADVERTISEMENT Even though Bill Linton believes the telecommunications industry is "treading water," Call-Net Enterprises Inc.'s president and chief executive remains optimistic about his company's prospects. A big part of his confidence has to do with the fact Call-Net has nearly completed a restructuring that saw it eliminate more than $2-billion of debt and shed hundreds of employees. While painful, the exercise has put Call-Net ahead of the curve on the likes of AT&T Canada Inc. and GT Group Telecom Inc., which are struggling with high debt loads. "I think we are treading water for at least a year," he said in an interview. "By treading water, I mean the financial markets are basically closed for us and pretty tight for the incumbent carriers. Everyone is cutting back and there is no capital spending. Everyone is retrenching." Given this bleak environment, Mr. Linton concedes Call-Net, which markets its products using the Sprint brand, has been forced to modify its strategy for growth. Its plans, for example, to expand aggressively into the local telephone market have been scaled back, highlighted by the decision not to move into Edmonton and Quebec City. This does not mean, Mr. Linton said, that Call-Net will not grow. Instead, the carrier must pick its spots carefully and make sure its costs reflect market realities. Since moving into local markets, which are dominated by Bell Canada and Telus Corp., Call-Net has picked up 110,000 customers. Mr. Linton said his goal is to have 400,000 to 500,000 customers, or 4% to 5% of the market. Call-Net's plan, however, were dealt a major blow when the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission froze local telephone rates in May. In a research note, TD Newcrest analyst David Lambert said the decision means Call-Net will win 3% of the local market over the next three years, compared with earlier estimates of 5%. While Call-Net is waiting for the telecommunications market to recover, Mr. Linton expects the company will become cash-flow positive within the next six months. This, he hopes, will attract more investors to Call-Net, which has seen its shares plummet to about 60¢ -- a far cry from its 52-week high of $29.40 in July, 2000. While Mr. Linton said he does not check the stock price every day, he concedes it is important that it rebound. He said a key issue is optics because many customers look at the stock as a barometer for the business. Then, there is the investment community, which has shown less interest in the firm as Call-Net's losses widened and the telecom market lost its lustre. "I worry about disinterest in our company," he said. "At a point, people aren't bothering to look at us, and we are an $800-million to $900-million company in a big industry. I can't have a complete de-focus of investor interest." Among the people that Mr. Linton has to win over is TD Newcrest's Mr. Lambert, who downgraded Call-Net to a "hold" from a "speculative buy" in late-May, while lowering his 12-month stock price target to $4 from $10. "Call-Net still has a number of opportunities it can address, including the bundling of local services with its existing long-distance and data businesses to overcome the cost advantage," he wrote. "However, we suspect that Call-Net could soon become a takeover target by a larger telecom partner." © Copyright 2002 National Post

To: Dan Hamilton who wrote (643)	11/12/2002 9:23:12 AM
From: DeplorableIrredeemableRedneck	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 652

I notice quite a spike in Call Net in the last couple of trading days: Canadian telecommunications industry on verge of consolidation, analysts say DAVID PADDON Canadian Press Monday, November 11, 2002 ADVERTISEMENT TORONTO (CP) - At least one of Canada's five national telecom carriers - and possibly two or three - will likely close, be taken over or merge before the troubled industry stabilizes, analysts say. Several think GT Group Telecom (TSX:GTG.A), currently operating under court protection from its creditors, will probably sell its assets, primarily its fibre-optic network, and not continue as an independent company. The future for AT&T Canada, the largest of Canada's three national challengers to former monopolies Bell Canada (TSX:BCE) and Telus Corp. (TSX:T), is also unclear once it emerges from court protection. Merrill Lynch Canada said Monday that AT&T Canada will be an "attractive acquisition target" once it is freed of $4.5 billion in debt. "In our view, Telus is the most likely acquisitor, despite the financial constraints it faces," the brokerage said in a research note, adding that Telus could use $2 billion in tax losses that AT&T Canada will have after reorganization. But Ian Angus, president of Angus TeleManagement, said a merger between AT&T Canada and Sprint Canada could make just as much sense, because they have different and complementary segments of the market. "They could potentially shake up the industry quite a bit," Angus said. Both Telus and AT&T Canada have been trying to win a share of the corporate market in Ontario and Quebec from Bell Canada which, in turn, is expanding in the West through a partnership with Manitoba Telecom Services. AT&T Canada's base is in corporations with a national and international presence. Sprint Canada, owned by Call-Net Enterprises (TSX:FON), is focused on small and medium-sized businesses and residential customers. "Together, they could make a fairly sizable company," Angus said. Both companies have been losing money since at least 1999, when they spent heavily to acquire data communications companies in an effort to expand beyond their base as long-distance phone carriers. Angus agreed with Merrill Lynch that it could make sense for western-based Telus to buy AT&T Canada, which has a client base and network infrastructure in Central Canada. But Rory Buchalter, an analyst with Dominion Bond Rating Service, said federal regulators might balk if Telus attempted to take over one of the smaller telcos, thereby reducing competition in the industry. However, Buchalter also said AT&T Canada will have a hard time surviving on its own - especially without AT&T Corp. as a shareholder and without the AT&T brand name to distinguish it from the competition, as is planned after its reorganization. Bondholders owed $4.5 billion by AT&T Canada have tentatively agreed to exchange the debt for ownership of the Toronto-based company and $200 million in cash. Buchalter said one complication is that most of AT&T Canada's debt is probably held by U.S. institutional investors, but federal rules prevent foreign ownership of more than one-third of a Canadian telecom service company. Meanwhile, there is speculation that a price war could erupt once the surviving alternative carriers emerge from under their debts. Already the data communications business has been softer than expected this year. And the rejuvenated carriers, free of debt, will be able to lower their prices and undercut their rivals, said Richard Mack, vice-president of KMI Research in Providence, R.I. This, Mack said, will "further the strain on the industry's recovery." © Copyright 2002 The Canadian Press