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Technology Stocks : Safeguard Scientifics SFE -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Arnopp who wrote (1138)	2/21/1998 10:47:00 AM
From: robert miller	Respond to of 4467

John, It looks like SFE is planning for additional expansion. <Picture: Apple Small Business><Picture: Philadelphia Business Journal><Picture: Microsoft Small Business> <Picture> February 16, 1998 Safeguard snaps up office space ------------------------------------------------------------------------ John Wilen Staff Writer WAYNE -- Safeguard Scientifics Inc. has bought the two-thirds of its campus here that it did not already own, a move that will allow the fast-growing company to "control its own destiny," officials said. The move makes Safeguard the owner of eight buildings encompassing 81,000 square feet. The company declined to disclose the size of the deal. "It's a multimillion-dollar transaction," said Gerald Wilk, a vice president at Safeguard. Safeguard will not manage the property; that task will be left to a property management company. Nor is Safeguard planning to enter the real estate business. "Real estate is not something that we're looking to get into," said Mike Miles, vice president and chief financial officer of Safeguard. What the deal does is ensure the investment capital company's ability to grow into the three buildings it does not yet occupy, Miles said. "At the rate we've been growing, it's better to control our own destiny," Miles said. Safeguard supplies seed and growth capital to a variety of private and public companies, generally in the computer and technology industries. Safeguard works closely with the companies it invests in, supplying managers or directly running companies as the case warrants. The company regularly takes private affiliates public through a Safeguard-invented rights offering process, in which Safeguard stockholders get first crack at a new company's stock. Safeguard achieved a long-stated goal last year when it took three companies public in this manner. "That's a goal we want to stick with going forward," Miles said. The company is already on its way to meeting the three-company goal this year. Last month, Safeguard announced plans to take DocuCorp International Inc. of Dallas public in a $33.6 million offering. The steady stream of rights offerings have brought Safeguard steady revenues and earnings. The company made $19.9 million in 1996 on revenues of $2.1 billion, up from $18.3 million made on revenues of $1.5 billion in 1995. Through the first nine months of 1997, the company made $15.4 million on revenues of $1.46 billion. Safeguard is due to release year-end earnings Feb. 17. Safeguard is also a major investor in several venture capital funds, including the Internet Capital Group LLC, and TL Ventures. Safeguard is a partner in, and manager of, a new $50 million state-backed fund, Pennsylvania Early Stage Partners. All of these funds, as well as several Safeguard affiliates, share office space at the Safeguard campus here. Now that Safeguard owns the campus, the company won't have to find additional space elsewhere, Miles said. c 1998, Philadelphia Business Journal <Picture> More Leading Stories

To: John Arnopp who wrote (1138)	2/21/1998 3:18:00 PM
From: William R. Polk	Respond to of 4467

Thanks for the NAV update. I'll guess that the reason that SFE did not close the week above 35 had more to do with option expiration than anything else. More contracts outstanding at the 35 strike price than any other. Given the historical pattern of a sell-off after a rights offering we may see a decline in the short-term. However, given the strength in the portfolio these days, I will view it as a buying opportunity. As for Who?Vision, I think your thought a few days ago (that it would be a year before Who? is offered) is probably correct. I think SFE wants to see at least 30-40 million in revenues with 20% projected growth for its rights offerings. 30-40 million in revenues for Who? is at least a year away, even if all goes well. I'll stick with Intellisource as a likely candidate. Bill