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Technology Stocks : Ascend Communications-News Only!!! (ASND) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: esterina who wrote (1523)	8/2/1998 11:42:00 PM
From: Edward J. Edwards, III	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1629

By Robin Sidel NEW YORK, Aug 2 (Reuters) - Internet equipment supplier Ascend Communications Inc. ASND.O is expected to announce plans early on Monday to buy Stratus Computer Inc. SRA.N for less than $1 billion in stock, according to sources familiar with the transaction. Board of both companies met Sunday, but final details were still being hammered out late Sunday night, said the sources who did not want to be identified. Financial terms of the transaction could not be determined late Sunday. The sources said the deal calls for Marlboro, Mass.-based Stratus to be split into four parts, with Ascend retaining the key portion of the business that makes computers used to run telephone switching systems. Other Stratus operations, which are used in securities trading and electronic commerce, would likely be sold by Ascend as part of the transaction. The San Jose Mercury News was first to report news of the transaction on Friday. Sources later confirmed the talks to Reuters. Shares of Alameda, Calif.-based Ascend tumbled sharply on Friday on concerns that the Stratus deal could jeopardize a potential purchase of Ascend by telephone equipment giant Lucent Technologies Inc. LU.N . Rumors of an Ascend-Lucent transaction have circulated for months and industry experts have speculated that a deal could be coming this fall. Ascend shares closed Friday at $44.875 on Nasdaq, down $7.06. Stratus stock gained 44 cents to $28.75 on the New York Stock Exchange. The deal will mark the latest in a wave of transactions in the telecommunications equipment sector. Companies are racing to outfit the world's telecommunications networks so they can transmit both phone calls and data communications over the Internet. Analysts said Friday a transaction between Ascend and Stratus would be a strategic coup for Ascend. Furthermore, Stratus' share price has fallen sharply in recent months due to weak sales, a development that makes the acquisition a better bargain for Ascend. Other similar transactions include the planned acquisition of Summa Four Inc. SUMA.O by Ascend competitor Cisco Systems Inc. CSCO.O. In June, Canada's Northern Telecom Ltd NTL.TO agreed to buy Bay Networks Inc. BAY.N REUTERS Rtr 23:23 08-02-98