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Technology Stocks : Osicom(FIBR) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rational who wrote (2937)	11/12/1997 10:55:00 PM
From: George Weiss	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 10479

Sankar, who specifically, among the bigger player is getting out of "this sector". Since Osicom's product range is rather broad, are you defining the sector as all networking products? Also, isn't Volpe more of a strategic financial advisor rather than partner? How could they both invest in the company and advise on how to sell some of its divisions? Your right about Mike M., he did save MCI and every time Bert Roberts comes to LA, he seeks out Mike. Supposedly Mike made 50k in consulting fees for advising MCI on the joint venture with News Corp a couple of years ago. Still, I don't understand the analogy. Is Osicom's current financial status similar to MCI's at that thme? Aren't stock repurchases made by companies on a regular basis, with the effect of improving the stock price? Finally, shouldn't the China operations help in reducing the manufacturing costs sometime soon. That should help them vs. the competition but the question is how much? Thanks George

To: Rational who wrote (2937)	11/12/1997 11:28:00 PM
From: David Pawlak	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10479

Sankar << why isn't Osicom's newly announced strategic financial partner, Volpe, investing in Osicom.>> Have you ever heard of a conflict of interest or the Chinese Wall in investment banking? That is why you won't see them buying until something is completed. What I read into the Volpe deal is that there are some very serious deals or deal to be hammered out. Be it a strategic alliance or a sale of a line of products or business unit. I think (just my opinion) that Osicom could sell a business on their own, which leads me to believe that there is potentially something major going on.... something like a stock swap or an investment from a major player similar to the MRVC/INTC deal. They have a couple highly proprietary products out there that are far more advanced or very attractive to partners or competitors; namely the NCC (Net Arm) and the Gigamux. This is only my opinion and is not based on any nonpublic insight... just random thought and possibilities. <<I cannot figure out the usefulness of the stock repurchase program>> A stock purchase at these levele allows them to repurchase assets at a discount to book value. It's sort of like giving someone $.75 for a dollar bill. It also sends a message to shareholders that the company feels confident enough in their future that they expect a return on shares to exceed their expected return on equity. It also sends a message that they will be maintaining a floor and be a buyer on those dips we all dread. More importantly is that the company has made a statement that backlog is at record levels and that a record quarter is likely, which makes a huge statement about the reversal of a bad trend.