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Technology Stocks : S3 (A LONGER TERM PERSPECTIVE) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: stock talk who wrote (8664)	1/5/1998 9:40:00 PM
From: J. Kittle	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 14577

stock talk: What would be the reasoning behind the buyback? Would it be to keep the stock out of an aquirers hands or to boost EPS. I'm always afraid to add to positions this low for fear that even if I average down, it won't get me a profit, if the co. or someone else makes me tender. I've had it happen before. Jeff

To: stock talk who wrote (8664)	1/6/1998 8:41:00 AM
From: Ski	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 14577

Frank, You're teasing me again. I just hate when you do that... ;<#) Ski

To: stock talk who wrote (8664)	1/6/1998 12:36:00 PM
From: Norrin Radd	Respond to of 14577

That's very interesting and makes sense with the selling of a bit of the foundry interest. In any case, SIII is a buy in here and for those who are considering buying, I wouldn't get too greedy trying to pick the exact bottom. The upside potential is huge, the downside risk is not very much.

To: stock talk who wrote (8664)	1/6/1998 1:28:00 PM
From: mark doubiago	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 14577

Any guesses on which company they can afford to buy? I would guess that ATI would be way too expensive to pay cash for. Maybe they are just going after Cirrus' graphic's division per many previous rumors. I would guess that Matrox may also be too expensive but have never seen any value placed on it (believe its a private company). I am guessing that they would not be interested in any of these companies anyways, since they would still be basically a low to mid level only supplier (sorry Ski). Maybe they just want Cirrus' graphics division so that they can get out of paying any royalties for infringed Cirrus patents. I would guess that they would be after a relatively high performance desktop chip company or maybe a well established portable supplier so that they could therefore establish a valid presence in one of these two markets where they have been noticeably absent. The only problem I see with a couple of the high end companies is that they are either subsidiaries or partially owned by very large companies and may not be obtainable. One idea that comes to mind is Number Nine. Relatively high performance chips but very little market penetration. Low price ~ $2 per share and about 13 million shares. S3 could snap it up and have a high performance chip quickly for the mass market and also gain their expertise for a low price. Share buy back plan: Big deal. If they want to improve confidence in the company then the officers should be personally buying the stock big time. Ski: I think that you have a great company and only wish that I had invested a little there instead of putting most of my eggs in one basket (and that one with a hole in it: well live and hopefully learn). NOTE: These are only my personal thoughts and not to be construed as rumors. As far as this company is concerned, I can't really remember a rumor that i have heard that has come to pass yet so take this info with a grain of salt. If a buyout of another graphics company is in the works, I would appreciate the name of the other company so that I can buy their shares for a better profit.

To: stock talk who wrote (8664)	1/6/1998 4:22:00 PM
From: Jan A. Van Hummel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 14577

So far I have seen Amaral making good moves. Under a stock buy back program (at current levels) they would be buying their own stock back at a small discount from book value and at a considerable discount from replacement value. However, I rather see them use the increased liquidity to brush up operations, invest in R&D and perhaps acquire complementary businesses. This will bring about an upturn a lot faster than buying back stock. They may want to buy some stock for treasury for future use against stock options and grants programs. If that were the case they would get the stock relatively cheap and it would not cause an dilution down the road. Nonetheless reinvestment in the business rather than in stock makes more sense IMHO. Jan