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Technology Stocks : WDC/Sandisk Corporation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: ED PLOPA who wrote (1075)	10/23/1997 3:32:00 PM
From: Sam	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 60323

Ed, No, I don't know if it is currently a friendly or strained relationship. I am a long time follower of Seagate, though, and bought a token 100 shares of SNDK awhile back at 14 and change just for speculative purposes, and on the basis of SEG having their stake, most of which was bought before SNDK was a public company, I think back in 94 or so, but I may be wrong as to the year. My guess from watching Al Shugart for maybe 12-15 years now is that it is a friendly relationship. I think, but am not sure, that he and Eli have known each other for a long time. The press on Shugart is generally speaking very good--he is widely respected and liked within the tech industry at large. He is known as a handshake, down-to-earth guy. Whether that is merely image or not, I cannot say, although someone on the SEG thread a month or two ago said that he had met him awhile ago, and it is "impossible not to like him". But he manages Seagate for the long term, and I would guess that his position in SNDK is also for the long term. He has taken other similar positions in youngish start-up companies both for Seagate and his own personal portfolio, most notably perhaps in Dragon Systems (likewise a 25% stake), which is still a private company that is a leader in voice recognition software. I recall reading a couple of years ago that Seagate had some sort of option to buy more or all of SNDK under certain conditions up to a certain time, but that is as specific as I can remember. Sorry. However, for those who have gotten this far, I would also say that a secondary is NOT the kiss of death. Another stock I have a position in is HMT Technology, which did a secondary of 10 million shares 1-2 months ago at 14. Nine million was by stockholders, 1 million by the company. Stock is at 19 now. If you believe in the company, and especially if you believe that upper management knows what it is doing and has integrity, you should ride this out, at least if you are investor rather than a trader. Being in the business that they are in, they will need as much cash as they can get. You can't have too much, at least not in their business, at the stage they are at, and with the competitors that they have. IMO, of course. Personally, I'm sorry I didn't buy more when it was in the low teens. But so it goes. Regards, Sam