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Technology Stocks : Texas Instruments - Good buy now or should we wait? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: charles black who wrote (3717)	6/8/1998 11:31:00 PM
From: Hayduke	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6180

But then again.... Dow Jones Newswires -- June 8, 1998 Texas Instrum, Micron DRAM Talks Seen Focusing On Italy Ops By CHRISTOPHER GRIMES Dow Jones Newswires NEW YORK -- There's little doubt that Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN) has been looking to exit the market for memory chips, where a long hoped-for rebound in prices hasn't happened. After ending a memory chip agreement with Hitachi Ltd. (HIT) in February, the company is reportedly trying to sell its remaining operations to Micron Technology Inc. (MU). Analysts said the talks probably center on Texas Instruments' facility in Italy, which manufactures dynamic random access memory chips, or DRAMs. Texas Instruments had no comment, and Micron didn't immediately return calls for response. But analysts said it makes sense that the two companies would be speaking to one another. Micron is the only U.S. company left that is committed to making DRAMs, as Texas Instruments and International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) have backed away from the market. Prices for the chips have fallen dramatically. In late 1995, the bellwether 16-megabyte DRAM cost about $60, but the price has ranged in recent weeks from $1.50 to $2. Cowen & Co. analyst Drew Peck said the two companies have been in "sporadic negotiations. "It's kind of a no-brainer," Peck said. "Clearly, TI wants to get out of the DRAM business. It boils down to a matter of price." But William Milton, a Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. analyst, said Micron has in the past expressed interest in purchasing only a state-of-the-art facility. Texas Instruments' plant in Italy produces chips on 6-inch disks rather than the more modern 8-inch wafers, he said. "I don't think there is a deal here," Milton said. "It is possible that TI would sell the Italy wafer fab to Micron if the price were very low. (Micron) is not part interested in anything less than a state-of-the-art facility." Texas Instruments' shares were recently trading up 2 5/8, or 5.2%, at 53 7/16. Micron was up 3/8, or 1.6%, at 24 7/16. -Christopher Grimes; 201-938-5253