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 : Seagate Technology -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kevin Linder who wrote (5321)	7/29/1998 2:12:00 PM
From: Sam	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7841

On scorched earth: It may be that this will be the Final Solution of this problem. SEG can withstand the pressure longer than the others; QNTM is not in bad shape, they have over $600 million in cash and short term investments, and a credit line that is not drawn on yet of at least $500 million, and perhaps as much as a billion, though I can't recall offhand how much exactly. They are buying ATL, and are buying back stock to adjust for liquidity, so some of the cash will be used in the next two months, but there should be enough. They also have DLT and ATL, and even with DLT growth slowing, if they just continue at 15-20%, QNTM will have the cash to withstand a war. Plus they can hunker down, and adjust their build schedule with MKE, and won't have to eat a lot of fixed expenses like WDC and the others will (they have a publicly unspecified minimum, but I doubt if it is much as the others' fixed expenses of keeping a plant, even if it is shuttered). Fujitsu has a parent to cover losses, but the parent isn't in the best shape financially either, and has a lot of money losing, capital intensive business aside form drives. A scorched earth policy may be one that Al S. wouldn't have agreed to, and (just SPECULATING here, NO real into) perhaps is what Steve L. and fellow ousters want to initiate at some point. Sometimes it is rational to be "irrational".