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Technology Stocks : Ciena (CIEN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: saju chacko who wrote (3823)	9/27/1998 12:18:00 AM
From: saju chacko	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 12623

CONGRATULATIONS once again to SI.... you're very respected... however i seriously doubt that this person who wrote the article read every post or scanned every post since what she calls a "melodrama" started.... so how can she really report? it's like believing a sound-bit on t.v. i guess i would call it a "post-bit" Saju Chat Room Melodrama Still Pairs Cisco And Ciena By JOHANNA BENNETT Dow Jones Newswires NEW YORK -- It reads like a plot from a daytime soap opera. After its devastating and terribly public breakup with Tellabs Inc. (TLAB), it looked like Ciena Corp. (CIEN) was about to find love in the arms of Cisco Systems Inc. (CSCO). Many thought the two made a great couple. Some believed an announcement would come almost any day. But then Cisco shattered that notion, insisting that cultural differences and geographic distance made marriage unlikely. Now, however, some among Ciena's horde of Internet fans appear unwilling to give up the notion that Ciena and Cisco (even the names sound like soap opera characters) are destined for each other. And that has resulted in no small amount of bickering on World Wide Web discussion boards. "Just give it some more time," said one participant on Yahoo! Finance. "They want Ciena." While die-hard romantics insist that Cisco is just playing hard to get, other message-board users toss out names such as Level 3 Communications Inc. (LVLT), Ascend Communications Inc. (ASND) and even Lucent Technologies Inc. (LU) as possible suitors. Recent remarks by Cisco Chief Executive John Chambers leave little hope for a merger, investors said. "There will be no deal between Cisco and Ciena short term. So let's focus," said a participant on Silicon Investor, a popular chat room site for technology investors. Message boards have been crackling with speculation about potential buyout partners for Ciena since its deal with Tellabs fell through earlier this month. The rumors have persisted - pushing up stock prices about 7.7% in early trading Friday - despite denials by a Ciena official that the company is in merger talks and Cisco CEO Chambers' recently discouraging remarks. Chambers told the Washington Post on Thursday there is a "very low probability" his company will make a bid for Ciena, citing differences in corporate culture and the fact that the two companies are located on opposite sides of the country. And according to one market observer, Chambers should be taken seriously. "That's classic Chambers and he means it," said Jeff Matthews, a portfolio manager for Ram Partners. "I have heard him say the same thing about other acquisition targets that the company did not go after. He definitely means it." Not everyone agrees. "Chambers is no dummy," said "Bald Man From Mars," a participant on Silicon Investor, a popular message board site for technology stocks. "If he said Ciena is a fantastic company, then he has to pay a fantastic price. He is talking down his purchase price." That notion, however, seemed implausible to some message board participants, namely because of Chambers' reputation as a "straight shooter." Equally doubtful, investors said, was the notion that Lucent Technologies could become a contender to replace Cisco in Ciena's affections given the likelihood of bad blood between the companies after Ciena said it suspected competitors of trying to sabotage its deal with Tellabs. Ciena hasn't directly accused Lucent of any wrongdoing. But it has linked the company's name with an anonymous, disparaging e-mail that was sent to Tellabs. Lucent said there is no evidence connecting it to the e-mail. - Johanna Bennett; 201-938-5670