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.

Technology Stocks : COMS & the Ghost of USRX w/ other STUFF -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: drmorgan who wrote (11093)	12/28/1997 8:20:00 PM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Respond to of 22053

I know the feeling, sort of, since I just got back from warm Arizona. Temps down there were in the sixties and my folks thought it was cold! I was in tee shirts and everyone else in sweaters. Gosh I hated coming back to this deep freeze. Just wait snow tomorrow night. Good for your skiing<G> Glenn

To: drmorgan who wrote (11093)	12/28/1997 11:46:00 PM
From: Scrapps	Respond to of 22053

NEC raises Packard stake Computer giant gets voting privileges, another board seat in Packard Bell December 26, 1997: 6:58 a.m. ET SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Japan's NEC Corp. has effectively cemented control over Packard Bell NEC Inc. by agreeing to invest an additional $240 million in the struggling personal computer maker, company officials said. Packard Bell NEC said that NEC and France's Groupe Bull SA agreed to invest a total of $300 million as part of the company's restructuring efforts. Groupe Bull would put up $60 million of that amount through what it called a "guarantee," officials said Thursday. NEC would not receive any more stock as part of the deal but would convert all of its non-voting stock to preferred voting shares, boosting its voting stake to 49 percent from 19.84 percent. Groupe Bull owns 12.62 percent of the voting stock. The stake of founder Packard Bell would decline to 38.38 percent from the present 60.32 percent. The investment is the fourth time the company has received cash from its investors in the past two years. Packard Bell NEC officials said the Sacramento, Calif.-based company would use the money to restructure its operations to sell more to corporate customers. "This will help grow the commercial PC business to become the leading business at Packard Bell NEC," said Mal Ransom, Packard Bell NEC's vice president of marketing. "It is a very expensive proposition to build the brand name with advertising, and putting the proper infrastructure in place." In Tokyo, NEC senior executive vice president Seijiro Yokoyama said the move was aimed at strengthening service support and marketing systems. Yokoyama said NEC deliberately kept its voting rights below 50 percent because it wanted to list shares of Packard Bell NEC as a U.S. company under the leadership of U.S. managers. "It is important to maintain an American management style to survive competition in the fast-changing U.S. market," he said. Yokoyama added that earnings at Packard Bell NEC were growing more slowly than expected due to a rapid decline in consumer and home PC prices. He said part of the new infusion of funds would be used for day-to-day operations. Ransom said the money also will help the company in its plans for its initial public offering, which would come some time in 1998. Packard Bell was not profitable in 1996, but did turn a profit in parts of its business this year on revenue of $5 billion, he said. Until three years ago, the company, then known as Packard Bell Electronics, specialized in making PCs geared toward home users and children. But profit margins in consumer PCs evaporated as giants such as International Business Machines Corp. and Hewlett-Packard Co. set up crash programs to invade the home computer market. In July 1995, Packard Bell agreed to let NEC to buy a 20 percent stake for $170 million to shore up its finances. NEC, based in Tokyo, had been looking of a U.S.-based partner to expand its brand name here. NEC invested an additional $293 million in cash in February 1996. Then in July 1996, NEC merged its global PC operations outside Japan and China into Packard Bell's, creating Packard Bell NEC Inc. In June this year, NEC invested another $285 million in Packard Bell NEC. With the latest investment, NEC has gained one more seat on Packard Bell's nine-person board of directors. NEC now has three, Groupe Bull two and Packard Bell executives four.